Attempted Ice Skating

We planned on going ice skating today. We got a coupon deal a few weeks ago and chose today to use it. The Oasis (the restaurant on the lake) has now expanded into a whole shopping center. They put in an outdoor ice skating rink for the holidays.

We decided to go close to 11, when it was opening. Noah gets cranky in the afternoon and we figured that was our best bet. As we were getting ready to leave the house Noah said he didn't want to go. He said he'd rather stay at home with Blanca. I tried getting a hold of Blanca, but she wasn't available right then. We gave Noah the choice of Clubhouse for Kids or ice skating and he decided to come with us.

When we got there the small rink had a lot of people on it. It was pretty crowded. Both boys were not in good moods. They went around the rink a few times and then started whining for hot chocolate (which neither of them drink). We did not get any right then because we would have to take off our skates to go to the restaurant next door. Noah sat on the bench while we skated then he decided he was ready to skate some more. The boys did a little better toward the end, but still weren't in great moods. We took off our skates and picked up a hot chocolate for Morry and Evan to share. I'm not sure Evan drank his.

I packed a lunch for the boys because I thought maybe we would eat there. We decided just to leave after ice skating and Evan and Noah ate their lunch in the car.

When we got home Morry and I ate lunch and the boys had nap time. I did some cleaning/organizing.

Morry met Dimitry at 4:30 and then picked up food for us on his way home. Morry got Freddy's and I got Panera.

Tonight was clean up night. I heard a lot of screaming and whining upstairs. I was getting the cookie dough ready for tomorrow.

Time to get the boys to bed. It's been a long day.

Everyone to Sports Class

Noah had Sports Class today so we all went. Noah had a good time. Evan read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to us with just a little bit of help.

When we got home I asked if the boys wanted to play outside. Noah insisted in was nap time and didn't want to play outside.

During nap time I did some cleaning and organizing.

For dinner we all had different things. Morry had egg on toast. I had soup and fish. The boys had pasta and some other things.

After dinner we went to HEB for a large shopping trip. We needed a lot of food and we bought stuff for our party. We decided last minute to have a New Year's Eve party. Evan and Noah were pretty wild at the store.

We put the groceries away and then got the boys ready for bed.

Winter Break Trip

We are back from our trip to Dallas.

We had a nice time. We spent time with family, celebrated Hanukkah, got a tour of Cowboys Stadium, ate at Coopers Barbecue in Fort Worth, celebrated Mom/Grandma's birthday, and visited a farm. Here are some pics and video.

On the way home today we made a detour to Sam/Jay and Hollis' farm outside of Hamilton, Texas.

Hoppin'

This morning we met Evan's friend Ben (and his mom and sister) at Hoppin' House. It's one of those indoor bounce/playground places. We stayed there for about 2 hours. Evan and Noah had fun and were going pretty much non-stop.

After that we went over to Tuesday Morning to pick up a few gifts. I don't normally shop there, but there was one in the same shopping center and it didn't look too crowded.

We ate lunch at home and then I got some things done around the house. I also went to the bank and to pick up smoothies.

Morry got the stomach bug today and wasn't feeling so good. He seems a little better tonight.

We did Hanukkah and the kids got more gifts.

For dinner, just the boys and I ate. Morry didn't feel like eating anything.

Tonight we had clean up night.

Morry is getting the boys ready for bed now.

Children's Museum with Evan

Today Evan didn't have school. We dropped Noah off at school and came home for a little bit.

We had plans to meet Morry downtown for lunch at noon. I was trying to think of something fun to do with Evan and then I remembered the Children's Museum is right near where we were going to meet Morry.

We went for about an hour. Evan had fun, but I think he's at the top age range for the some the stuff they had. Most of the kids there were preschool age. Noah would enjoy it.

We met Morry for lunch at Which Wich and then went to pick up Noah from school. We got to Noah's school a little early so we were there for some of their party. Yes, they had another party.

At home we took it easy this afternoon. I gave Evan a haircut.

We lit the menorahs and opened presents. For dinner I had some leftovers and Morry had a hamburger.

In a little bit we'll get the boys ready for bed.

First Night of Hanukkah

Today was Evan's last day of school before "Winter Break". We said something about Christmas Break and he corrected us.

Evan got to wear his pajamas to school today. Evan was hyper this morning. Morry said Even ran along the path to school.

I was still recovering from my stomach bug so Noah and I stayed at home. I gave Noah a haircut and gave Lizzy a bath.

We picked up Evan from school and came back home. We just took it easy this afternoon.

Tonight the boys were very excited about Hanukkah.

For dinner we had pasta. After dinner we went to HEB.

Morry is reading to the boys now.

Latke Book

I still wasn't feel so well this morning so Morry took both boys to school.

Noah's teacher asked us if we would come read a Hanukkah book at school today. We came at 11:45 and Morry read The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming. It's a book Michael and Jen got us a while ago and the boys really love it. Noah enjoyed having us come to his class. The kids seemed to be listening to the book and liked the part when the latke screams, "Ahhhh."

We came back home and then a little later I picked up Noah, came home for a little bit, and then picked up Evan.

For dinner we had pancakes. I didn't feel like eating much and we knew the boys would eat pancakes.

The boys are in bed and Morry is watching the Steelers game.

San Antonio

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, we drove to San Antonio to go to Anika's 11th birthday.  The party was at 11am so we left around 9:45am.  Traffic was very light so we got there in under an hour and a half.

The boys really enjoyed themselves.  The party was at the same place that it was last year - a pavilion in a nice park.  The boys played on all the various playscapes there.  They loved it.  They didn't want to leave when it was time.

Rachel did not feel well on the way home and ended up being sick when we got home.  She thought it was just some nerves but now she has a fever.  She originally felt fine afterwards and she went to a gathering of Pink Ribbon Cowgirls.  The Pink Ribbon Cowgirls is a group for young breast cancer survivors.  One of them passed away yesterday.  She was only 34 with a young boy.  She was a participant in the bra fashion show that Rachel participated in last year.

When she got home, Rachel started to feel bad again.  So I drove the boys to McDonald's and we picked up some food for us.  Evan ate really well.  He's turned into an eating machine.  Noah didn't eat so well.

I gave them baths and put them to bed.  They did not go to sleep right away and Noah and I had a major battle over that.  He told me "they are going to put you in jail" when I told him that I couldn't wait to see him tomorrow but I didn't want to see him the rest of the night.  I don't know who "they" are, but I'm not too worried.

Evan has two days of school this week, so only two mornings of getting up early.

Until next time...

UT Basketball

This morning I was able to sleep in some. The boys played well this morning. Morry gave them breakfast so I could shower and get ready.

We went to the UT basketball game today. The boys seemed to have a good time. Our original seats were pretty high up, but we could see really well. Towards the end of the game we asked an usher if we could try and move up. They said that was fine. We found seats a lot closer and the boys seemed to enjoy the game even more from those seats.

This afternoon Morry and I both did some work.

For dinner we picked up food from Cheddar's.

After dinner we went to Pete's Trail of Lights. There's a house in our neighborhood that goes crazy with Christmas lights and decorations.

Below you will see some pics and videos from today.

Holiday Parties

Evan and Noah both had their holiday parties at school today.

I went to Noah's party at noon. After all the kids ate lunch they played games and ate gingerbread men. Noah wanted to be by my side the whole time.

I dropped Noah off at home with Blanca and met Morry at Evan's school. Last time we brought Noah to Evan's party it was not very pleasant. He was cranky and demanding. Evan's party was nice. They rotated stations with different games and crafts. One of the stations was the dreidel game. Evan spent a lot of time there. Mr. Valdes got the class together for a picture. The parents were joking that it looked like they were going to perform or sing for us. So, the kids decided to sing Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel. After that the kids showed us their surprise projects they have been working on. There was an ornament, a card, and a calendar that they made.

Morry went home and a little later I took Evan home with me after school.

I was invited to this open house type cookie decorating party on our street. She said you could come any time between 5pm and 11pm. I went over there around 5:30 and stayed for a little while. She had all kinds of sugar cookies already made. There were different colors and types of frosting and sprinkles. Then, we all got to take home about a dozen cookies in a box she had for us. It was very nice. I rushed through my decorating so I could get home and we could all go out to dinner. The kids were very impressed though when I came home with a box of decorated cookies.

For dinner we ate at Cypress Grill.

At home the boys picked out one sugar cookie each to eat. They are also picking treats off of Evan's gingerbread house he made at school.

Now, we are going to get the kids ready for bed.

Sports Class and Evan's Friend

Today was a typical Thursday for most part. Noah and I hung out at home in the morning. I wanted to walk or run but it was raining pretty much all morning.

I got some cleaning done around the house.

At 12:30 Morry, Noah, and I went to Sports Class. Noah had fun, like always.

We came home for just a little bit and then went to get Evan. We parked at the trail and walked even though it was misting. I knew the front of the school would be crowded.

After school Evan's friend Ben came over to play. At first the boys were pretty mellow. They watched TV and ate their snacks upstairs. Then, they got a second wind and were running around. They were good, but just really active. Ben's mom came around 5:30 to pick him up.

For dinner we had tortilla soup and pasta.

Tonight was clean up night. Noah cleaned up well, but Evan was crying a lot because I put his Legos away. I didn't take apart anything. I just put them all in the box. He was upset for some reason.

The boys have been put to bed, but I hear Noah talking upstairs to Morry.

More Rain

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

When I woke up this morning, it was raining again.  It's been raining, in some form or fashion for most of the last two weeks.  The times it has rained in the last few days aren't hard.  It's been lots of drizzle and misting.  I'd argue, that's probably better for us.  We need lots of rain and if we got a big downpour, we'd probably have lots of flooding since the ground is so dry.

I had to make a decision, though, because of the rain on how to take Evan to school.  Since it wasn't a big downpour and it was only drizzling, I decided the path would be ok to walk on.  So we drove to the path and walked that way to school.  It really wasn't too bad.  There were a couple areas where there were puddles but they could be avoided.

I came home and Noah was up.  I put on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for him and got some breakfast for him.  When Rachel got up she took Noah to school.

At 10am, the guy came to repair the windshield.  It only took him 10 minutes.  Since it was just a chip, he was able to do something to fix the windshield and not replace it.  There is still a mark there but I guess they guarantee it won't spider.  That's all that matters to us.

After that, Rachel and I went to a toy store, called Lions, Tigers and Toys.  We got some Hanukkah presents for Evan and Noah.  We then went next door to Play N Trade and got some Wii games for them for Hanukkah.  From there Rachel met the Mom's Group for lunch at Mandola's.

Rachel went to Target after lunch and then picked Noah up from school.

When they went to get Evan, Rachel and Noah were going to walk.  Unfortunately, it started to drizzle again so they walked back to the house (they were just around the corner) and drove to get Evan.

Rachel had to tutor tonight so Evan, Noah and I had a "buddy party".  It's something I started with Evan in the summer.  We get a movie to watch, order pizza, and eat it at the coffee table while watching the movie.  I picked Kung Fu Panda 2 up at Redbox and we ordered from Papa John's.  Unfortunately, the boys weren't that well behaved so the party didn't go well.

I got them ready for bed and now they are in their rooms.

Until next time...

Windshield

This morning Noah was up early. He got up as Morry and Evan were getting ready to leave.

This week is finals week so my tutoring schedule is changed. I had a student who needed to meet during the day today, so I brought Noah over to her house. Noah was very good and watched TV while I tutored.

But, on our way there a rock hit our windshield. It seemed to come from the grassy median. I'm thinking maybe it shot off a truck on the other side of the highway. It was a little rock, but still made a chip in the windshield. That was really annoying.

At home, I was about to look up some places to get windows repaired. I saw a post from someone on Facebook. She had just gotten a new windshield and was highly recommended the place if anyone needed it. Nice coincidence! Anyway, the window repair place is coming over tomorrow to fix our windshield.

After picking up Evan from school we met Yenis and Kevin at Ritas.

Noah fell asleep on the way home.

For dinner we had potatoes (sweet potato and baked potato) and brisket.

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

The Stomach Bug Strikes Back

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning was the first morning back to "normal".  I was going to take Evan to school and return home.  Both mornings that I was in town last week, I went from dropping Evan off to going to and working at StoredIQ.  Then, of course, when I was gone, Rachel took Evan and she had to wake Noah up as well to go.

When I went to wake Evan up, I only turned on the little lamp as I normally do.  It was still pretty dark.  I could hear Evan breathing.  I saw some white sticking out of the sheets and he was wearing a white pajama shirt.  I rubbed the white and said "Evan wake up", but it felt really odd.  I realized that Evan's stuffed Yoda was sticking out of his sheets and I had just rubbed Yoda's back (it was Yoda's white robe that I saw).  Evan was sleeping completely under the covers head and all so I never saw him.

Taking Evan to school was uneventful.

Noah woke up shortly after I got home.  He seemed to be in a good mood and didn't give Rachel any trouble when she took him to school.

Rachel and I both did MB Squared work until Rachel needed to get Noah.

Rachel walked to pick Evan up from school.  When she got home, she made them shaved ice.

After that, Noah told Rachel his tummy was hurting.  Rachel laid down for a nap and Noah climbed up on to my side of the bed and slept for a couple of hours.  He must really not have been feeling well if he slept that long.

I made leftover chicken for dinner and made macaroni and cheese for Evan.  I also made popcorn for both boys.  Rachel brought Noah down and he was complaining more about his tummy.  He didn't want to eat anything and eventually wanted to go back to bed.  He wanted Rachel to get him ready for bed but Rachel was leaving for tutoring so she didn't have time to do the full bedtime routine.  She said he could pick one thing she could help him with, but he wanted it all and threw a fit so Rachel left.  Eventually I coaxed Noah downstairs and gave him some Gatorade.  He ended up eating his popcorn.  After that he seemed to be in a good mood and was playing well with Evan.

Both boys did not give me a hard time getting them ready for bed.  They are not sleeping though.

Until next time...

Hanukkah at Central Market

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Rachel and I slept in until around 10.  The boys played well in the game room, though Noah did come in several times to talk to Rachel.

Rachel met her friend Melissa for lunch at 11am at the Omelettry.  We had never eaten there.  She said it was pretty good.

Meanwhile, I gave the boys lunch.  They behaved fairly well for me.

Close to 1pm I met Rachel at Central Market.  They had advertised they were having a Hanukkah celebration with face painting, arts and crafts, music, dreidel games, etc...  When we got there, one hour after the scheduled start, there was barely anything going on.  There was a band playing with a large Menorah behind them but not one was watching them.  We let the boys play on the playground for a while and finally we saw a lady setting up an arts and crafts table.  The boys made a dreidel and a menorah.  Eventually some girls from some dance team performed and then another band and choir played.  They said there was no face painting and the dreidel games amounted to each child getting a dreidel and two pieces of chocolate gelt.  All in all it was pretty lame and pretty disappointing.

We came home and the boys rested for awhile.

For dinner I made oven-baked fried chicken.

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

Until next time...

Family Get Together

This morning we went to Austin Diner for breakfast. We met Leah, John, Jacob, Jay, Hollis, and Hollis' mom there. Afterward we went to Jay and Hollis' house and hung out there for a little bit. They had two little dogs, one of which the boys really loved. It was jumping on and licking the boys. Then, Aaron came with his dog. His dog was "getting pretty friendly" with Olive (the dog that the boys liked). The boys just thought the dogs were fighting. They thought it was funny.

After that we went to Allen's birthday party. It was an Angry Birds backyard party. They had lots of games for the kids to play including a sling shot game. The kids flung a ball to knock down toy bricks like the Angry Birds game. Noah started getting cranky so we left before the party was over.

For dinner we went to Craig O's for pizza and pasta. Noah fell asleep on the way there and slept on Morry for most of dinner. Of course he woke up right as we were ready to leave. He decided he wanted to eat then and not at home. So, we had to wait for him to eat his dinner.

We just got home and now we are going to put the kids to bed.

Here are a few videos from today and yesterday.

A Big, Long Day

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

As you can probably tell, I'm back from California.  I left the hotel this morning at 5:20am.  Both plane rides were on time and uneventful which was good.

Rachel had to get Noah up for the last time this morning so that they could take Evan to school.  It is difficult getting him up.

Rachel went to HEB while the boys were in school.

When I was driving home from the airport, Rachel and Noah were walking to go get Evan. On the way home, Noah fell asleep in the stroller.  When Rachel got home, she had to carry Noah to his bed where he slept.

Earlier this week, we got an email from the little league that Evan plays in.  The University of Texas Baseball and Softball teams were having a one night camp tonight for up to 40 kids.  The camp included working on baseball skills on the field of the main stadium where the UT baseball team plays.  Afterwards they served pizza and showed a movie and did some arts and crafts.  We decided that this was something Evan would want to do and signed him up.  When Rachel told Evan earlier this week, he was pretty excited.  Before we left to drop him off tonight, he was even more excited.  When we got to the stadium and he saw how big it was, his eyes got huge and he was even more excited.  I wasn't sure if he'd understand how cool this was - that he was going to be playing with a top 25 baseball and softball team.  He seemed to understand it more than I had given him credit for.  We signed him in and walked him into the locker room of the softball team.  It was like a lounge in there was nice couches and a big screen tv on.  Evan seemed excited, gave us a high five and we left.

We went to dinner with Noah.  It was strange only having Noah at dinner.  It has not been common that the three of us have been out together without Evan.  Noah ate his dinner and was very well behaved.  From there we went to Mozart's which is a coffee shop out on Lake Austin.  At the top of every hour they were having a Christmas light show.  We got Noah ice cream there and then the show started.  He loved it and was dancing to the music.  We actually stayed an entire hour and Noah got to watch it a second time. I think Noah had a really good night being the center of attention from both Mommy and Daddy without Evan around.

We drove back to the stadium to pick up Evan.  We had to walk up to one of the luxury suites and get him.  He was making a craft and seemed into the Polar Express which they were showing.  They told us that they worked with Evan on hitting, running the bases, throwing the ball and catching grounders and fly balls.  He also had gotten a UT nylon bag with a string tie.  We thought that all kids had gotten it but the camp director told us that Evan won it.  That he did something special when hitting the ball.  I have not been able to figure out what - Evan said something about hitting the ball the hardest or the farthest.  I don't know really, but what was clear is that this was something special.  He told us they took him into the batting cages and someone pitched to him.  I wish I had video of all this.  The camp was for 4 to 9 year olds and when we dropped him off, Evan looked pretty young compared to many of the kids.  I don't know if they divided the kids up or anything.  Evan said he wants to do it again.  They said they'll be doing another one in January.

We drove home and got the boys ready for bed.  I picked out the book "The Pigeon Wants A Puppy".  Evan sat on my lap.  The first page seemed easy so I had Evan read the first page to me.  He ended up reading the entire book to me with just a little help from me.  I cannot believe Evan is hanging with the UT baseball team, hitting in the batting cage, and reading a book to me.  It's amazing.

Until next time...

Evan's tummy

This morning at breakfast Evan complained a little about his stomach bothering him and he didn't eat much. He seemed ok besides that so we went to school.

Around 10:45am I got a call from the school nurse saying Evan didn't feel well. At lunch his stomach was bothering him and he told someone who brought him to the office. He did not have a fever, but I still came to pick him up since he wasn't feeling well.

At home I put on movies for Evan to watch. We left the house to go to Noah's sports class. Evan sat with me during the class and we watched Noah play volleyball with balloons.

Back at home, Evan watched more movies and laid down on the couch.

He seemed like he was feeling better and I asked if he wanted to go outside and ride his bike a little. I thought that would be good since he was inside all day. Evan was excited to go outside, but when we got to the cul-de-sac there were a bunch of boys playing tag and football. Evan decided he'd rather play with them. Evan and Noah played with the boys for a little bit until Evan came over to me to tell me he was tired. I knew he must not be feeling well if he didn't want to play football.

We had dinner at home. I made squash soup and the boys had pasta.

Evan's complaining about being tired again.

I'm going to give them baths soon and put the boys to bed.

Freezing (literally)

This morning I had to get both boys up and dressed in time to take Evan to school. Noah was not in a good mood. It was cold. I was in the upper 20s this morning. We parked at the path and walked to school the back way. Noah was crying and whining the whole way.

Noah and I came home for a little bit and played Go Fish. Then, it was time to take him to school.

After I picked up Noah from school we went to the library. We got some CDs from the library. One was the Annie soundtrack (one of my favorites). I put in on for Noah in the car. He liked the first 2 songs, but then fell asleep in the car.

We had just a few minutes at home. I tried to get Noah up, but he wanted to sleep in the car.

We picked up Evan from school.

Gabby came over so I could tutor. I got dinner ready for the boys so Gabby could feed them while I was gone.

When I got home from tutoring the boys we ready for bed and coloring with crayons with Gabby.

Evan and Noah have now bed put to bed, but Noah's still awake and downstairs for some reason.

Instant Winner!

This morning Noah and I mostly stayed at home.

Noah had a playdate at Cole's house at 12:30. Before going to Cole's we stopped at the bank and then HEB. When Noah put his Buddy Buck in the machine he got "instant winner". We went to the customer service desk and he got to pick out a prize. This is the second time he's gotten that. He picked out a Go Fish game. Noah was very excited.

Noah had a great time at Cole's house. Cole's mom said they played very well together.

I picked up Noah from Cole's and then picked up Evan from school. We parked at the trail and even the short walk was pretty cold. Noah and I both had our hats, gloves/mittens, and coats on. Evan put his gear on on the walk back to the car. I think it was about 40 degrees. That's cold for us.

Morry left for California tonight. He's going to an HTML conference for a couple of days.

I had to tutor and Blanca wasn't available to babysit. I dropped the boys off at Clubhouse for Kids. I brought dinner for them to eat there.

When I picked them up we went to the mall. I ordered some shoes from Finish Line online, but they didn't fit so I needed to return them. While we were there the boys talked me into letting them ride the train and getting cookies.

Evan and Noah are now in bed and it seems to be quiet up there.

Another School Day

Morry took Evan to school and then went to some meetings.

After I took Noah to school I took Lizzy for a short walk. It was pretty cold out this morning. I got some things done around the house including getting dinner ready in the crockpot.

Noah had a good day at school.

We drove to pick Evan up from school since the path was probably muddy. It was misting at the time of pick up and there were a long line of cars waiting in the pick up line. I parked and Noah and I walked a little bit.

Blanca came over at 3:45 and I tutored.

For dinner we had Buffalo chicken and fries.

Morry is reading to the boys now and then they will hopefully go to sleep soon.

Rainy Day at Home

We had more rain today.

This morning we took it easy at home and went over to JD's Market. It's a new convenient store/gas station that opened up right near us. They have a small restaurant, produce, breads, meat, and more in there. We got donuts for the boys and Morry. I was going to get a breakfast taco, but they only had a few choices left. Morry got one. We also got fajita meat for dinner tonight.

At home we ate and then Morry and Evan watched the Steelers game. Noah watched some.

It had been a long time since we did special playtime. The boys have been asking to do it and we said we would this weekend. I did special playtime with Noah during the game and then Morry and Evan had a turn after the game was over.

The rest of the day we stayed at home. Evan and Noah played really well together in the game room this afternoon. They spent a lot of time in their Star Wars tent.

For dinner we had fajitas.

Morry had to do some work tonight.

I cleaned up, helped the boys clean up, and then gave them a bath.

Morry just read to them and now we'll put them to bed.

Locomotion

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning the boys let us sleep in.  It was nice.  We had planned to take them to Locomotion but they were very busy playing in the game room that we just stayed in bed for awhile.

When we got up we got ready and we went over to Locomotion.  It's one of the inflatable jump places.  It was raining today in Austin (for the second day straight) and so the place was packed.  There were also several birthday parties going on.  The boys didn't seem to mind and had a great time.  There were a bunch of people we knew invited to one of the parties, including our neighbor.  We talked to them for awhile.

On the way home we stopped and got Slurpees.

We tried to have a small lunch because it was nearly 2pm when we got home and we wanted to have an early dinner.

We just relaxed until dinner.

For dinner, we went to Red Lobster.  Evan wanted crab and lobster.  They have a small lobster tail on the kids menu so we ordered that for Evan.  Noah said he didn't want food. Rachel got crab legs.  When the food got there, Noah wanted some of Rachel's crab.  So Evan, Rachel and Noah all shared the crab legs and Evan and Rachel shared the lobster tail.

After dinner, we stopped at Petco to get litter for Mottel and then to Old Navy.  Rachel had another coupon and I was hoping to get track pants.  Unfortunately, they were not on sale and they were kind of expensive otherwise.

We came home and the boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

Cultural Night

We got a real rain today. It was the first school day that is has rained. Morry had to drive Evan to school and park at the front of the school. He went around the back way and came from a different direction to get there. Morry said on the way home he saw cars lined up toward our house on Spruce Canyon.

Noah threw a fit this morning and didn't want to go to school. It was a struggle getting him downstairs and in the car, but once he was at school he was fine.

After picking Noah up we went to the post office and HEB.

We drove to pick up Evan. We parked in front of the school about a block away from the entrance. It was raining at the time, but I decided it was better to get wet than sit in the long line of cars for pick up.

At home, I baked the chocolate chip cookies. They were yummy!

Tonight there was a cultural celebration event at Evan's school. They asked people to bring food from their culture. We weren't really sure what our culture is. We couldn't think of any easy Russian or eastern European foods to bring in. So, we went the Israeli route and brought pita and humus.

It was packed at the school. They had various cultural shows with kids dancing, singing, martial arts, etc. The kids got passports and had to go around and get them stamped at the various country's booths. They also had activities at the booths as well. Evan had a good time hanging out with some of his buddies from his class. Noah walked around with me and loved doing all the art projects and other activities.

When we got home, we did Shabbat. I had picked up a challah at HEB.

We just got the boys ready for bed.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie?

Cole came over to our house today. Noah asked me the other day if Cole could come over again. The boys had fun playing together. It was cute.

Cole left around 11am to go to his Little Gym class.

We ate lunch at home and then went to Noah's sports class at the Little Gym. Noah liked playing football today.

On the way home we stopped at HEB. I have been searching for recipes and ways to improve my chocolate chip cookies. I can never get them like the mall cookies. I found this one recipe online called My FAVORITE Chocolate Chip Cookie. Everyone raved about how good these were. So, there were some things we didn't have in the house and that's why we stopped at HEB. Of course, whenever Noah is with me I end up getting more than I planned. We also came home with cupcake mix, blueberry muffin mix, and some oreo cake mix.

We walked to get Evan from school. This time I brought the stroller and it worked out a lot better. I would prefer that Noah walk, but he gets so cranky.

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen today. I made the batter for the chocolate chip cookies. They suggest leaving it in the fridge for 24 hours. You can make cookie dough and not try a little, right? So I made just a few of the cookies today. They were good. I'm looking forward to seeing the difference tomorrow after the dough has been chilled.

For dinner we had cheese and ground beef foldovers.

I made the cupcakes for dessert.

Now, it's time to get the boys ready for bed.