Full Week

Hello everyone, this is is Morry.

We had a full week this week.  On Monday it was back to meetings for me.  Evan and I went to HEB after school and work to get food for the week.  It was crazy crowded at the store.  We had dinner at home and then Evan had a hitting lesson with Justin.

On Tuesday, I took Grandmom to have an endoscopy.  Rachel taught.  Luckily Evan's baseball practice was canceled in the evening which helped.  Rachel still had a long afternoon and evening of tutoring.

On Wednesday, Grandmom stopped by to bring the boys a Playstation 5.  The boys wanted one for Hanukkah and Grandmom was able to get one from eBay.  In the afternoon, Evan went and coached the younger kids.  I stayed out at TRPD and had a meeting and talked to my siblings.

Thursday was a little easier.  I had fewer meetings and we didn't have any baseball.  Rachel did have a very long stretch of tutoring that started at 3:30 ended at 7:30.

On Friday, after work, I took Evan to Marucci with Josiah and his dad John.  After that we picked up pizza from Austin Pizza Garden which is going out of business after 27 years.

Yesterday, Evan had bullpens at TRPD.  Rachel and Chewie came with us.  We stopped at Donut Taco Palace and then took at walk on the Hamilton Greenbelt after dropping Evan off. 

We came home and had lunch and then I took Evan to the park to play baseball with Reid.  He stayed over Reid's house last night.  For dinner, we had Cypress Grill.  Papa picked it up for us.

Today, I went golfing with a bunch of dads from Evan's baseball. I played much better this time.  Our team came in second out of three foursomes.

I picked up Evan on the way home.

Rachel, Evan and I went to HEB for food.  For dinner, we had Torchy's.

Rachel is cleaning now and then we'll sit down.

Until next time...

Race for the Cure 2017

This morning was another early morning.

Grandma and Papa picked up Noah and me at 6:20 this morning for Race for the Cure.  The walk started at 7:30am downtown.

We had a nice time.  There were 5000 people there.  It was crowded at the beginning of the race but then thinned out some.   We walked most of it.  Around mile 2 Noah wanted to run, so we ran/walked the rest.  Noah really liked getting cheers from the spectators.

We hung out a little bit after the race.  There was a special survivor's tent for survivors and 3 family members.  They had food, drinks, and swag there.

Later the day, we had a woman come over from Gold Ribbon Rescue to interview us to be foster/adopters of Golden Retrievers. She brought one of her Goldens with her.  I'm pretty sure we passed the test.  It was a nice visit.

The boys had Sunday School from 4-6pm.

After Sunday school we met Grandma and Papa at Austin Pizza Garden for dinner.  We ate outside and the kids were able to play on the playground there.  The weather was nice.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

All By Myself

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today was officially the coldest morning of the school year.  It was 33 degrees on our walk to school.  To be honest, it felt better than yesterday even though it was 9 degrees colder.  The 20mph wind was pretty bad yesterday.

Both Rachel and I worked from home in the morning.  We had a call with HomeAway.

After that we went to Wholy Bagel.

The boys weren't home for long after we picked them up.  They both went to Grandma and Papa's.  The synagogue was having a grandparent/grandchild Hanukkah cookie decorating event.  So the boys ate dinner at Grandma and Papa's and then they drove up the synagogue.

Rachel had a Christmas/Holiday party for the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls that she went to.

Meanwhile, that left me alone.  It is the first time I have been alone on an evening or weekend day in I-don't-know how long.  Just sitting here, I cannot think of the last time I was alone.  Unfortunately, I had to run out to Academy to get Evan a long sleeve warm undershirt for his game tomorrow.  He has an 8am game where they are predicting a tropical 37 degrees at game time.  I looked in his drawer and his shirt that he would wear under a uniform is way too small.  So my trip to Academy took away some of my alone time.

I picked up dinner from Austin Pizza Garden and I watched the movie Deadpool.  Nothing too exciting.

The boys are in bed now.  Rachel will be home soon.

Until next time...

Busy Baseball Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan had two baseball games yesterday.  They were later - at 4:45 and 8pm.  So we were able to sleep in.  Rachel and I also went to Costco to get some things around lunch.  Evan and Noah stayed home alone.

Of course the games were running behind.  Evan's team lost the first game.  But the second game didn't start until after 9pm.  We didn't get out of there until after 10:30 and not home until after 11pm.

Evan's game this morning started at 8am.  So we had to be at the fields by 7:15am.  Evan's team won in extra innings.  Evan started the double play that allowed the game to go into extra innings.

After winning that game, their next game was not until 4:45.  Two boys came home with us as well as one father.  They lived up in Cedar Park and didn't want to drive all the way home.  We picked up pizza from Austin Pizza Garden and watched football.

Rachel went to Grandma and Papa's and Noah joined her there a little while later.

Noah had a birthday party to go to at BAM Austin which is a Parkour place.

In the second game at 4:45, Evan was catcher.  He did a great job at catcher.  He threw out a runner stealing second.  In the bottom of the third, he broke up the no hitter.  He smashed a ball up the middle which hit off the pitcher's glove.  The pitcher got his glove down just in time to make sure it didn't hit his leg and it caromed off to the third baseman, but Evan was safe with an infield single.  In the 4th inning, he broke the scoreless tie with a 2-run single.  The team went on to win 3-2 in six innings.  It was quite successful.

In the championship game, Evan's team was losing 5-2 going into the top of the fifth inning which was going to be the last inning.  They scored one run to make it 5-3.  Evan came up with two outs, runners on second and third.  He swung and missed at the first pitch.  Took a called second strike (a really bad call) and then lined a single to right knocking in the tying run.  Everyone was jumping and screaming.  The joy was short-lived as the other team scored one in the bottom of the fifth to win the game.  Evan pitched 1 2/3 innings and caught two more innings after catching six the previous game.

The coaches pulled me aside after the games to tell me they are so impressed with Evan.  They really felt he was the MVP of the weekend.  They could not say enough good things.  They said he has a switch inside that allows him to turn things up a notch.  It was all really nice things to hear.

We are home now and Evan is going to bed.

Until next time...

Lots of Cleaning

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, Rachel and I slept in.  When we got up, Rachel went to a church where they were having a clothing swap.  This is the third year she's gone.

The boys just played upstairs while I worked.

Rachel made waffles and pancakes for the boys for lunch.  Then she started to clean.  Allison and Avery are coming tomorrow so Rachel spent the afternoon cleaning.

For dinner, we went to Austin Pizza Garden.  They added an outdoor patio and playscape.

We stopped at HEB on the way home.

The boys are now making s'mores with Rachel in the microwave.

Until next time...

Non Stop

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah stayed home from school again this morning.  We probably could have sent him, but I think it would have been pushing it.  He hadn't eaten in more than 24 hours.  We wanted to see him take it easy for one more day.

Meanwhile, just as Evan and I were about to leave to go to school, the skies opened up.  We drove and parked out front and ran in.  Even in that short distance, we got pretty wet.

Later in the morning, I went to get my hair cut.  After that I went into Aaron's to go over some things.

From Aaron's, I met Coach Chris, the coach who works with Evan sometimes for lunch at Austin Pizza Garden.  During the day, Chris works at a startup tech company.  He had some questions for me and wanted to talk about potential projects.  It was a good lunch.

Rachel walked to get Evan when I got home.  She hadn't been out of the house all day.

Rachel left to go tutor later in the afternoon.  As she was leaving the family cancelled.  Rachel went to Walmart to get some things she needed (she had some coupons).

Evan and I left just as Rachel was coming home to go work out with Coach Chris.

For dinner we had pasta.

The boys will be getting ready for bed soon.

Until next time...

Doctor Visit

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was a typical walk this morning.  The boys did well.  Lizzy enjoyed it.

I went in to Aaron's for a bit this morning.

Rachel and I went to Wholy Bagel for lunch.

Around 2, we got a call from the school nurse.  Evan was in there.  She said he looked pale and that he was complaining about some dizziness and his stomach was hurting.  We said we'd come get him because school gets out at 2:40.  We drove to school.  I drove Evan home and Rachel and Noah walked home together.  Although, Noah used his scooter to get way up ahead.

When I was with Evan he was acting normal.  But we made an appointment to see a doctor at the after-hours clinic.  The earliest appointment they had was 8pm.

Around 6, Noah and I left for baseball practice.  He did better this week than he did last week.

Evan has been complaining about his stomach for awhile.  He tends to tell me about every single little ache and pain he has so normally, I just ignore it.  The doctor checked and his ears looked fine and his throat.  He definitely wasn't sick.  So they did an x-ray on Evan's stomach.  It turns out he's constipated.  So she gave him Miralax and talked about what to have him eat/look for.  So he'll be fine and he'll be ready to play football and baseball this weekend.

Noah and I stopped at Austin Pizza Garden and picked up pizza on the way home.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Tough Day at the Ball Fields

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Baseball didn't start today until around noon so we took it fairly easy in the morning.  I had to run out to pick up the jerseys for the Marauders.  Evan played hockey in the cul-de-sac with Nathan, but Rachel and Noah stayed here.

Around noon, Noah and I drove to the fields for the last game of the regular season.  The team has been playing really well.  So I was ready for a good game.  The top of the first didn't disappoint.  We got three out after only giving up two runs.  The leadoff batter hit a ball that rolled to the fence for a triple.  The next batter got on as did the third batter.  The fourth batter is where we had trouble.  He hit a line drive to the pitcher who managed to catch it in the air (the first time that has happened this season).  The runner on second did not get back in time and suddenly we had a man on first with two outs.  Keep in mind in the last 6 or 7 games we've only run into about 4 or 5 outs.  The next batter was our slowest batter.  Even though I pointed him away from the pitcher, he still managed to ground to the pitcher who threw to first for three outs.  So the score of the tee ball game after one was 2-1.  The other team got three outs in every inning including another double play that was almost exactly like the first one.  This time, though, Noah was the runner on first and he never heard us yelling to get back.  We got a ton of outs in the game but unfortunately, the lack of runs really hurt us and we lost.

After the game, we went to Austin Pizza Garden with several families from Noah's team.  It was a nice time.

From there we went back to the fields for Evan's game.  Evan's team seems to be playing worse and worse.  Evan wound up with two doubles and a single but many of the other kids just weren't hitting.  The other team was also fairly strong defensively.

We came home and the boys ate, showered and are upstairs in their rooms.

Until next time...

Dentist

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We walked to school today.  The boys did well walking.

The boys had dentist appointments today.  It had been a year since they went last.  Both boys had appointments at the same time.  Rachel picked them up from school at 10:20 and took them.  Noah's appointment went really well.  He got a good bill of health.  However, for Evan, the news was not as good.  He has two more cavities and the one last year the filling had become damaged.  So he had to stay longer today while they fixed that filling.  He didn't need any anesthesia or anything.  He'll go back in the summer to have the other teeth fixed.  We're at a loss for why he keeps getting them.  He's just going to have to floss consistently.

Evan did not go back to school.  He said he wasn't feeling well after the ordeal.  Noah wanted to go back to school and Rachel dropped him off.

I ran out to Academy looking for baseball pants for a boy on the Marauders and got some things for myself.  Then I stopped at Wholy Bagels and got lunch for Rachel and me and brought it home.

Evan watched a movie and Rachel walked to pick Noah up later.

Noah had a baseball game tonight.  They won again.  This time, the team was finally able to get three outs in one inning.  We've won every game based on the number of outs recorded tie breaker.  But today, we actually held them to four runs in one inning and won the game.

Evan had baseball practice at the same time.  After the game, Noah's team was going to the Austin Pizza Garden to hang out.  Rachel and Noah went over there while I walked over to Evan's practice and helped out at the end.  Then Evan and I drove over to the restaurant.  We had a really nice time and got to spend time with a family that I hadn't gotten to talk to before.  It was very nice.  We enjoyed it.

We are home now and the boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Noah's Team

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We walked again to school today.  We've been able to walk every day this week, which has been nice.

I had to run to the bank and I picked up a smoothie at Smoothie King for lunch.

Both Rachel and I picked up the boys from school today.  Noah's friend from school Penelope stayed with us until we walked by the parking lot where her mom had parked.  She then told Noah that she wanted to marry him some day.  It was very cute.

At 6, I had a coaches meeting for Noah's team.  They distributed the rosters and gave us some updates on things.  I brought the boys since Rachel was tutoring.  They played baseball with an 11-year-old.  Evan said the boy taught him how to throw a knuckleball.

We had dinner at Austin Pizza Garden.

The boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

Goodbye Grandma and Papa

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning the boys got up and all of us, including Grandma and Papa walked to school.  The boys were in good moods.

Grandma and Papa had breakfast but then left shortly after.

Rachel seems to have gotten a cold so she stayed home today, even canceling her tutoring.

I picked the boys up from school.  They were in good moods on the walk home.

Later in the afternoon, Evan and I ran some errands. We had to stop and get food for Lizzy as well as pick up some things at Play It Again Sports.  We got dinner from Austin Pizza Garden on the way home.

The boys are in their rooms now.

Until next time...

Evan's First Practice

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We did very little this morning.  Rachel and I woke up around 9.  The boys were downstairs playing Wii.  We just decided to take it easy.

Evan had his first baseball practice of the season today.  We thought he'd be drafted by one of two former coaches but he was drafted by someone that I didn't know.  I think he was a bit nervous about it though he didn't come out and say it.   We got to practice early and Evan was all about starting to play baseball.  They had hitting practice first and Evan seemed to do well. I helped out.  The coach came to talk to Evan and me.  It turns out he is from Pittsburgh and is a big Pirates and Steelers fan.  I think this actually made Evan feel more comfortable.  After hitting practice, they worked on fielding.  They had Evan begin at shortstop.  He had some excellent throws over to first.  And he showed off his hustle by running in and barehanding a ball in the grass.  The final drill was baserunning and Evan showed some speed.  That's never really been part of his game.  The finished off practice with a relay race.  One team started at home and the other team started at second base.  The team that got all their players through won.  Evan was one team captain and the coach's son was the other captain.  Evan's team won.

Evan made me stay after practice to practice some more.  He wanted to pitch to me.  Then he wanted me to throw to him while he played first base.  And finally, he wanted to go out into right and make throws to me as if I were a third baseman covering the bag.

On the way home, we stopped at 7-eleven and got Slurpees.

At dinner time, I had to go back to the fields to pick up equipment for my team.  Then the boys and I went to Austin Pizza Garden for dinner.  Rachel wasn't feeling 100% so she stayed home.

After dinner, Evan told me that he wants to start playing baseball when he wakes up and doesn't want to stop until it's time for bed.  We'll see how that goes.

Noah and I have our second practice tomorrow.

Until next time...

Cold Morning

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, Evan asked if we could ride bikes to school. I originally said no, but Evan really wanted to ride.  I was going to be picking him up from school so I finally gave in.  I was thinking it's been getting warmer as the week has gone on.  Had I checked the weather, I would have seen it was 37 degrees outside.  Evan was just wearing a t-shirt and a sweatshirt on top of it. I work a sweatshirt.  Going down hills was really cold.  Actually what was the hardest was having your hands just holding on to the handlebars.  When we got to school, I could tell Evan was pretty cold.  Normally he's doesn't get that cold.  I still had to ride the bike back home.  It did warm up and it was a beautiful day in the low 70s.

Rachel took Noah to school and he was good.

Later in the morning, Rachel had a call with someone that is helping her get ramped up on tutoring kids who have learning disabilities.  One of the mother's of a child that Rachel is tutoring is paying Rachel to talk to this woman who moved away from Austin so Rachel can help out.

Rachel picked Noah up from school.  He was in a good mood when he came home.

Rachel then went to tutor and Noah and I rode the tandem bike to get Evan.  As we were leaving the school a boy approached Evan.  The boy looked to be in second or third grade.  Apparently he recognized Evan from the baseball game on Tuesday night.  This boy was on the other team.

The boys played well upstairs with Legos while I worked.  Then they went in the back and played baseball.

For dinner, Rachel was feeling tired, so the boys and I went to Austin Pizza Garden.  They were really well behaved there and ate a bunch.  It was a really nice time.

We came home and I put the boys to bed.

Until next time...

Campus

Today we went to the University of Texas.  We got free parking on the street, so it started out well.  We went to the Co-op (bookstore), the Texas Union, and walked around campus a little bit.  For lunch we ate at Einstein Bros Bagels on The Drag.  Then, we went to Rita's for dessert.

We came home and did stuff around the house this afternoon.

We went to Target to get a gift for a birthday party.  The boys also picked out some toys with gift cards they had.  Noah got a Wii game and and Evan got Legos.  On the way home we stopped at Austin Pizza Garden to pick up dinner.

The boys are playing with their toys now and then we'll get them ready for bed.

Busy Afternoon and Rachel's Back...For Now

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning I woke Evan up.  We had to go wake Noah up since Rachel wasn't here and he would have to come with me to take Evan to school.  I was nervous that Noah would be in a bad mood but he was in  good mood.  While I got Noah up, Evan wanted to pick out clothes for Noah.

We rode our bikes to school.  It was tougher than I had thought biking with Noah on the back.

Later I dropped Noah off at school.  He was in a good mood.  Noah was only the 2nd kid there which he seemed to like.

When I picked Noah up from school, he seemed very excited.  He ran over to me as soon as I came.

We stopped home for a bit, I had lunch, while Noah played baseball outside.  He was throwing the ball against the net and then he got a wiffle ball and bat and was hitting the ball.  I was happy to see Noah outside rather than playing the Wii.

We rode the bike to get Evan.  Shortly after picking Evan up, the boys had tennis.  Both boys did very well again.  Noah really likes this two-hand forehand.  He also found it extremely funny every time he hit the teacher.  In fact, I realized, he was aiming for the teacher.  Every time he hit him, Noah would jump up and down with his arms raised.  When I was a kid and my dad would take me to a driving range, I would aim for the guy driving the thing to pick up the balls.  This reminds me of that.

The other instructor was working with Evan and another boy on more advanced concepts.  They had the boys stand closer to the net and they were trying to lightly hit the ball just over the net.  Then he had them actually try to volley with each other.  It was fun to watch.

From tennis we had to drive to baseball practice for Evan.  Several of Evan's teammates were excited to see Noah.  I think Noah really liked that.  Then Jack's sister Audrey took Noah to the playground and they played for a while during the practice.  As usual, and much to Evan's delight, he played almost exclusively at second base.  The coach also had the boys race each other at one point.  When the whole team raced each other, Evan actually won, though I thought Evan may have won partially while using his shoulder to knock a few kids out of the way.

The boys were in a very very good mood after practice and it was good because Rachel came home.  The waiting game continues with Bubbe/Grandma/Shirley and Rachel wanted to get home for a bit before she has to go back.  It is great having Rachel home.

On the way home, we stopped and picked up pizza at Austin Pizza Garden.  The boys really like that pizza.

The boys had showers and they are in bed now.  It appears to be quiet too.

Until next time...

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.

Another Friday

Both kids had good days at school.

Evan brought his tooth fairy money to school with him to show everyone. He was very excited to see $5 under his pillow this morning.

Noah and Evan hugged each other and high fived the teacher at pick up.

At home, I tried to each Evan how to ride his bike without training wheels. It didn't go so well. I think he was really tired.

For dinner we went to the Austin Pizza Garden.

We just gave the boys baths and now Morry is reading to them.

Acupuncture and M&M Cookies

This morning Jodie picked up Evan and brought him to school. It’s his last day of school before the holidays.

Matt and Rachael came to help again this morning.

I had an acupuncture appointment at 10:15. The appointment I went to last week was just for testing before they do any kinds of treatments. The woman did a few different tests like blood pressure, looking at my tongue, and some other things which they charged $73. I thought that was pretty expensive for not even getting any kind of treatment. Today she mostly just talked about treatments they offer and drew stuff on the whiteboard. It felt like a sales pitch. The actual acupuncture was maybe 20 minutes. It took about 5 minutes for her to place a few (maybe 10) needles in various spots. Then, she left the room for 15 minutes and came back in to take them out. That was it. I was charged $63 for today. I’m wondering if that is normally how it works or am I getting ripped off. It sure seems like that to me. I don’t think I’ll go back there. I’m going to ask around for recommendations of a different place to go.

On the way home I stopped at HEB and got some groceries.

Matt and Rachael stayed until after I ate lunch.

When Evan got home I put the boys down for naps.

For dinner Jill and Michael ordered Austin Pizza Garden for us and Morry picked it up on his way home.

After dinner I made M&M cookies. It had been a while since I made cookies. It seemed like a good day for it.

My hands are still hurting, but they are getting a little better. They are starting to peel now and it’s still hard for me to do some every day things.

Well, we just put the boys to bed. Noah was good during the day today, but got really cranky tonight. He seems to be quiet now. Evan is still up.

No Rachel

Hello Everyone, this Morry.

This morning, Evan woke me up at 7:15. I took him downstairs and got him some breakfast and put on a movie for him. He came back in at 8:30 and wanted to get dressed. Shortly after that Evan got up.

We all played in the gameroom. Soon, Grandmom/Marilyn got up and joined us. When Rachel got up we went downstairs.

We headed out to lunch at Kneaded Pleasures. It's a bagel/sandwich shop. Neither boy ate much there. We noticed, as we were entering the shopping center, that the Blockbuster was having a sale on previously-viewed DVDs. They had some listed as 5 for 20, some as 3 for 20. So we got Evan a bunch of DVDs. We also got two Wii games which were buy one, get one free.

When we got back, we put the boys down for a nap. Rachel's Aunt Susan came and picked her up to go to San Antonio. Rachel's cousin is getting married tomorrow and the rehearsal dinner is tonight. This is the first time that Rachel has been away without the boys and without me.

Noah got up from his nap first. At 5:30, I had decided that Evan had slept long enough. So Noah and I went to get him up. Noah walked right in and went over to Evan who was sleeping and yelled "Eh-yan". Then he climbed into Evan's bed and laid down on top of him and the climbed over him. It was really funny. Evan thought it was funny even though it was probably a tough way to wake up.

From there, we went to Target and got some stuff for the boys and presents for Ben and Molly. After Target, we met Matt, Ben and Molly at the Austin Pizza Garden. They had a guy playing guitar live there. He was pretty good.

When we got home, I gave the boys baths. I thought we'd try something new. I asked Evan if he wanted to sleep in the bed in Noah's room. He was very excited to do that. I thought that might make it easier for Evan to go to sleep since he's been getting out of bed because he wants to be with me. Well it has worked on one count. Evan hasn't gotten out of bed. But it is 10:19pm currently and the boys are still up. It seems to be getting quieter but they have been laughing and squealing and having a good time together. I have gone up there twice to remind them to go to sleep.

Until next time...