Baseball Regular Season Ends

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah was apparently the first to get up this morning.  He was up late, as usual, so it was surprising he got up first. Evan, who is normally the early riser, got up around 8:30.  When I came downstairs, they were forcing Zayde to play MLB Power Pros on the Wii and beating him badly.

We decided to go to brunch.  We chose to go to Waterloo Ice House.  They have a playground outside so the boys could play while we waited for our food.   They came back in just as our food was being served.  Neither boy ate very well.

We came home and relaxed a bit before going to the baseball fields.

Noah's game was first.  His team hasn't lost a game so far this season.  From the beginning of the game, it become apparent that they were not going to lose their first today.  Noah started the game at third base.  He didn't have any balls hit his way though.  He got hits in both at-bats and ran well.  He listens to the base coaches and runs hard when he's supposed to run.  The team won their last game.  Their first playoff game is Tuesday night.  If they win on Tuesday, they play on Friday night.  If they win Friday night, they'll play in the championship on Sunday.

Evan was warming up during Noah's game.  We all walked over and the team was getting ready to go into the dugouts and take the field.  Blanca and her mom, Rita, and dad Allen came to watch the boys.  It was really nice of them to come to see the boys play.  Evan also started the game at third base.  But all three kids up at-bat struck out, so Evan didn't see any action.  Actually the first six batters for the other team struck out.  Evan didn't have a good game at the plate today.  He struck out in both at-bats.   For some reason it looked like he wasn't swinging well.  He got one play in the field.  He was in right field in the third with a runner on first.  The batter hit a ball more-or-less down the right field line to the fence.  Evan ran out to get it and threw a one hopper to the second baseman who was just beyond the dirt holding the lead runner at third.  I knew the moment that the ball went to the fence that Evan was almost excited that he could show off his arm.  Evan's team won to finish their season with just one loss.  His playoffs begin on Thursday.  There's essentially a "play-in" game on Thursday.  If his team wins on Thursday night, they begin a double-elimination tournament on Saturday.

We came home and watched the Steelers game.  We took a break to eat dinner that we picked up from zpizza.

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

Until next time...

Busy Morning

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, I had the StoredIQ office manager come over to the house to help me get some QuickBooks stuff in order, so I could generate 1099s for the people who have been helping me.  Because of that, Rachel planned to take the boys out. She arranged to meet one of the moms from the Mom's group, Jodie.  Evan and Jodie's son Allen went to preschool together for the first two years of preschool.  Jodie has another boy Thomas, who is a year older than Noah.

Pamela, the office manager, got to our house around 9:30.  Rachel told Noah that she'd be getting him dressed when she came back upstairs.  Of course, Noah threw a massive fit for the entire time Rachel was gone and even more when Rachel came back upstairs.  She ended up putting Noah into the car naked.  When they got to Jodie's, Rachel sent Evan in while she dealt with Noah.  After a little while there, Noah calmed down.  Rachel said that Evan and Noah played together mostly, but all the boys were talking during lunch so they all played together after lunch.

When they got home, the boys and I played some Super Mario Bros, and then it was nap time.

After naps, Evan and Noah first played Angry Birds on the computer, and then they went outside.  Noah's throwing has gotten good enough that he pitches the ball to Evan who hits it.  It's nice that they can do that.  Maybe Noah will turn into a pitcher.

We went to a place called the Bakehouse for dinner.  The boys were mostly well behaved there.

We just put the boys to bed.  Evan is playing Angry Birds in his room for a bit.  But both boys are quiet.

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.

New Playgroup

This morning we tried out a new playgroup. The one for Evan’s age is getting smaller and smaller. I thought I’d try the one for Noah’s age group. It was a good turnout. There were mostly girls there, but Evan and Noah didn’t seem to mind. They had a golf set that Evan and Noah continuously fought over.

After playgroup we went to the gym. Evan was very excited to see Allen (from his class) there. Evan and Noah did really well and seemed to have a good time. Noah definitely does a lot better when Evan is there with him.

After the gym we came home and ate lunch. I made sandwiches for the boys, but they didn’t eat very much.

For naptime, Noah slept and Evan played in the game room.

For dinner we went to Frank and Angie’s. Even though it was raining we were able to eat outside on their screened in porch. It was nice and the boys ate well. Evan ate almost all of the spaghetti. Noah had a little spaghetti and some pizza. There were a bunch of kids playing outside next to the porch. When Evan was done he asked if he could play with the kids. Evan loves playing with older kids, especially boys. He was following this one boy, but he didn’t seem to mind. As we were ready to leave the rain started to come down harder to we stayed a few more minutes to wait for the rain to calm down.

We just put the boys to bed. I hope they both fall asleep quickly.

Our turn to host playgroup

We had a nice morning. Playgroup was at our house today. I was busy last night and this morning getting the food ready. I put out cranberry apple crisp, fruit salad, veggies, pita, humus, the taboli I made the other day, and blueberry muffins (Evan’s request) that Evan helped me make this morning. I also made coffee and put out orange juice. When the playgroups first started the moms just put out a few snacks for kids, but as time went on we started having more of breakfast/brunch stuff.

We had a good turnout. We had Jodie, Allen, and Thomas, Alena and Avery, Leigh and Katie, Yenis and Kevin, Anna and Regina, and of course me, Evan, and Noah. All the kids played very nicely. Evan Noah had a good time watching all the older kids play. The rollercoaster was a hit like always. The first people got here a little after 10 and everyone had left by 1. I enjoyed it. It’s nice having other moms to talk to and it’s good for Evan to get used to sharing his toys. Some of the moms said how much they liked the food and commented that I do a good job of putting out fun, kid friendly snacks. They said I should write a book.

In case anyone is interested here’s the cranberry apple crisp recipe. I think I got it from one of my mom’s cookbooks.

3 cups cranberries (one 12oz bag)
2 apples (thinly sliced)
½ c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ c flour
2 tbsp brown sugar (packed)
¾ c rolled oats
3 tbsp melted butter

1. mix cranberries, apples, sugar, cinnamon, and 1 tbsp flour and put in greased baking dish
2. combine remaining flour, brown sugar, and oats. Then, mix in melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit.
3. bake at 375 for 30-40 min

Usually I add a little vanilla to both the fruit mix and the topping. I also double the amount of oat topping since that’s my favorite part.

Yes, I know he needs a haircut.