Sugar

This morning we took it easy at home.  Morry did work and I got stuff done around the house.

Early afternoon we left to run some errands.  First, we went to HEB to pick up something for Evan's class gift exchange. Then, we went to Voodoo Doughnuts to pick up dessert for the potluck tonight.  Next, we went to Barnes and Noble to get a book for the potluck gift exchange.

Evan and Morry went to Jesse's birthday party from 3-5.

Noah and I went over to the neighbor's party around 4:30.  Morry and Evan met us there after the birthday party.

It was a nice party.  The kids had a ton of sugar.  There was a table with desserts.  Then, they also had smores and hot chocolate at the party.  Both boys made smores.  Evan got hot chocolate and I put a few marshmallow in it for him.  Then, he decided to put even more marshmallows in the his drink. I think he had a little hot chocolate with his marshmallows.

When we got home the boys got ready for bed.

Morry is still working tonight and I still have a ton of stuff to do to get ready for the week.

Here are some pictures from today.

Just The Three of Us

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Both Rachel and I really slept in this morning.  I was surprised how long we slept.  The boys were very well behaved, playing in the game room.

We had waffles for brunch.

Just as we finished up brunch, Josh's family came to pick up Evan.  He was staying the day with Josh and then sleeping over there tonight.  Tomorrow morning, they will go fishing.

Rachel left around the same time as Evan.  She had to tutor a student.

Noah and I played Super Mario Bros in the afternoon.

We ran several errands around dinner time.  We stopped at Petco to get a present for Lizzy, then we stopped at Barnes & Noble.  We had dinner at Chipotle then went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to get some stuff.  We followed that up with a trip to HEB.

Noah is now in bed.

Until next time...

Halloween and the Last Few Days

Thursday, we walked to school and brought Evan's marble machine project.  From there, I walked with Lorena and Morry and Lizzy walked home.

After walking I went to HEB.

We walked to get the boys at school and then went to the Book Fair.

My tutoring got canceled.

Evan and Morry went to baseball practice.

Noah and I walked to the neighborhood farmer's market.

Later, we went to get Zayde at the airport.

Morry and Evan picked up Pho Thai Son for all of us on their way home from practice.

Friday, it rained really hard for most of the day.  We drove the boys and our neighbors Brody and Drew to school.  The 2nd graders' classrooms are in portables and they were not allowed in their portables all day.  They even had a tornado drill. Noah's class got to spend the day in the computer lab.

For lunch, Morry, Jack, and I went to Wholy Bagel.  There was a lot of water on the roads and we had to take a detour at one point to avoid a huge flooded area in the road.

We drove to pick up the kids from school.

For dinner, we went out to dinner with Grandma and Papa and Zayde to Evangeline Cafe.

Today, we took it easy in the morning and made waffles and pancakes for breakfast.

Morry, the boys, and Zayde went to Barnes and Noble while I went for a run.

Later in the afternoon Aaron's family came over and we all went to the block party in our cul-de-sac.  Grandma and Papa, Jack and John, and Mandy's parents joined us as well.  Aaron went to pick up pizza from Via 313.

Morry and I took the kids trick-or-treating with John, Jack, and Audrey.

We got home around 8:30.  It was fun night.

The kids are in bed now.

No Baseball This Weekend

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I'll try to catch everyone up quickly.  Two kids couldn't make it this weekend so we pulled out of the tournament that we were supposed to play in.  So we decided to go to a "Hit Night" at a local baseball academy.  Basically, they have two or three coaches and it's $20/kid for an hour and a half of working solely on hitting.  6 of the 9 Bucs came.  Just as we were about to leave, though, Noah said he wanted to go.  So Noah came to Hit Night.

All the Bucs were very good to Noah and they all cheered for him while he was hitting.  I think the whole experience was good for Noah.  They played two hitting games at the end.  Evan won both games.

On the way home, I stopped with the boys at Via 313 - a new pizza place near us to get dinner for Rachel and me.  It took 45 minutes to get our pizzas, though so the boys and I didn't get home until nearly 9:30 and so Rachel and I ate late.

On Saturday, the boys and I went to see Paul Blart.  The boys enjoyed it though they both agreed the first one was better.  We stopped at Barnes & Noble so the boys could use gift certificates they had gotten for their birthday.

Rachel and I went to an open house in our neighborhood to look for a house for Grandma and Papa.  It was nice.

In the evening, Rachel and I went to a Persian restaurant.  We had never been.  It was pretty good.  Then we went to see Insurgent.  We both enjoyed it.  Blanca babysat.

Today, Rachel and I both slept in.  After lunch, we took the boys to the pool.  It opened this weekend.  I don't think people knew it had opened up because there was barely anyone there.  The water was still pretty cold.  Our neighbors ended up coming so Evan and Noah played with Brody there for a while.

We went to Costco to get food for the week later in the afternoon.  The boys ate their dinner there.

The boys are cleaning up now.  They should be finished soon so they can have their showers and go to bed.

Until next time...

Date Night

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was very cold this morning but Evan wanted to ride his bike.  Noah, Rachel and I drove.  We brought Noah's scooter along with us so he could ride it home when it was warmer in the afternoon.

We went to Wholy Bagel for lunch.  It wasn't as crowded as last week for some reason.

Lizzy came with us to pick up the boys.  Evan rode his bike home with Jack and Noah rode his scooter home.

Evan had football practice later in the afternoon.

When practice was over, we drove the boys to a bouncy house place that was having an Parents Night Out.  The kids could play and they provided pizza, popcorn and juice.

Rachel and I went downtown and had Asian food at a place called Imperia.  It was pretty good.  We had a Groupon for it.  Then we walked to Le Cafe Crepe and had dessert crepes.

We had a bit of time to kill so we stopped at Barnes and Noble.

When we picked up the boys they said they had a great time.

Until next time...

No School Today

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning when I woke up, Evan and Zayde were both awake.  Noah came out of his room shortly after I came downstairs.  I worked while the boys and Zayde played together.

Later in the morning, Christian and Connor came over and the boys went out and played outside.  Something happened between Evan and Noah and Noah came home crying.  Zayde and Noah went upstairs and played Legos together.

Rachel made pancakes for lunch.

Rachel tutored later in the afternoon.  The boys, Zayde and I went to Barnes and Noble.  The boys had gift certificates they wanted to use.  Zayde bought them a MAD magazine and put some money on top of their gift certificates so they could get a little more.  Evan got two Calvin and Hobbes books and a Robo Spider kit.  Noah got a Snap Circuit kit.

When we came home, Noah was able to build a circuit before Christian and Connor came back over.  The boys went out and played outside until 6:30.

Rachel made beef stew and cornbread for dinner.

The boys are about to go upstairs to get ready for bed.

Until next time...

Baseball and Errands

Evan had camp again this morning and had a good time.  While Evan was at camp Noah and I played baseball outside and then he came with me to my massage appointment.

This afternoon we hung out at home.  I gave Lizzy a trim.

For dinner we had a frozen Asian meal.

After dinner we went to Barnes and Noble and Petco.

We just got the boys ready for bed.

Bookstores

This morning Noah had an appointment with the therapist.

After that we went to Half Price Books to get activity books for the kids for our road trip.

Then, we went to the Barnes and Noble for my tutoring.  Noah sat at the table with us while I tutored for an hour and a half.  He did word searches from one of the activity books we picked up at Half Price Books and he drew some pictures.  He was very well behaved.  After tutoring, I let him pick out a snack from Starbucks in the bookstore.  He chose coffee cake.  Noah played at the trains for a little bit and then we went to Petco to get food for Lizzy.

We were home for just a few minutes and then we rode the bike to get Evan.

Tomorrow is Evan's last day of school.

Later this afternoon someone came by to fix the crack in my windshield.

For dinner we had leftover Salt Lick from last night.

We taught the boys how to answer the phone when it rings.  We figured they should know how to do that.  We practiced calling from our cell phone and then asked Zayde to call too.  The boys like that.

The boys cleaned up tonight and now they are in bed.

A Busy Saturday - Part Three

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today we had yet another non-stop Saturday.  The difference between today and the previous two Saturdays is that it started later.  Evan did not have a 9am game.  In fact the first thing we had to do was Noah's Karate at 11am.  But from that point on we were doing something.

Grandma and Papa took a separate car than us to Noah's karate.  After karate, we had an appointment with a new person for Noah to see.  So Grandma and Papa were going to take Evan back home after karate.  As we were sitting in karate, I got a call from the alarm company.  Our house alarm had been going off.  It turns out that Noah who had gone out the front door when Evan was playing baseball in the front yard, had not closed the front door properly.  So shortly after we had left the door blew open.  I came home, closed the door, locked it and turned around to drive back in time to get Rachel and Noah and drive to the appointment.

The appointment went well and as it was the initial appointment, it was nearly an hour and 45 minutes.  From there, we met Grandma and Papa at Bruegger's Bagels.

Evan and I raced through lunch as I was volunteering at the concession stand at the baseball fields.  Evan's friend Jack's dad was going to be there as was our coach and his wife.  Their son Josh is the boy who came over to our house last week and he was going to be there too.  So I brought Evan and the three boys (along with Jack's sister Audrey) played while we worked the concession stand.  At the end, Evan and Josh actually helped.

As soon as that was over, Evan and I drove up to Barnes and Noble in the Arboretum to meet Rachel, Grandma and Papa.  They were meeting Aunt Susan there.

We stayed at Barnes and Noble for a bit and then drove to Rudy's for dinner.

The boys were well-behaved at Rudy's.  Evan and I were "watching" the Pirates game on my phone.  It was just the ESPN GameCast which shows the current batter and the current pitch.

We came home, gave the boys a shower and put them to bed.  Then Rachel and I went out to see the Five Year Engagement.  I thought it was really funny.  Rachel thought it was ok.  It was a bit long.

Now we're finally home and ready to go to bed.

Until next time...

Busy Night

Both of the kids went to school without any problems today. Evan got to walk to school with his friend/classmate, Jack. Jack lives right around the corner from us and they ran into to each other walking to school. Morry said Evan and Jack had a fun time playing this morning on the way to school.

While Noah was at school I had an acupuncture appointment.

After I picked up Noah we went to HEB and then picked up Evan from school.

Gabby came at 4pm and I tutored.

I had one student until 6pm and then met Morry at the boys at Maudie's for dinner. I had a new student meeting me at the bookstore near there at 7:15pm. I won't normally meet her at that time, but she needed some help studying for a test tonight.

Morry took the boys to Dick's Sporting Goods after dinner to get tball pants for Evan.

I got home around 8:45pm. Evan was asleep and Noah was almost asleep.

Change of Plans

Morry and Marilyn took Evan to school today.

Around 9am, we left the house to take Grandmom to the airport. Noah and I had an appointment at Wonders and Worries at 10am so we went there from the airport. We got to Wonders and Worries about 10 minutes early and the door was locked. We waited and waited. I tried calling the guy we were supposed to meet but he didn't answer his phone. At 10:20am I called again and left a message saying we were leaving to run errands and could try coming later. He called shortly after and said his son's school was closed today because of the fires. It was being used as a shelter. He apologized for not calling and we rescheduled for Thursday.

Noah and I went to Panera to get my free cookie. When I went to Panera the other day they forgot to put the cookie in my to-go order so they said I could come back later and get it. Noah and I shared a sugar cookie.

Then, we went to Kohls and Old Navy to return a few things. Old Navy is next to Barnes and Noble. Noah asked if we could go to the bookstore. So, we did for a little while.

At home, we ate lunch outside. It was a nice day today.

We drove to the path to pick Evan up. Evan and Noah were excited to see each other.

At 4:30 Kim came over to babysit.

Morry and I went to the Meet the Teacher night at the school at 5:30.

We got home at 6:30 and I left to tutor.

I picked up Popeye's for Morry on my way home.

The boys are in bed and asleep now.

Day 2

Morry walked Evan to school this morning. He said Evan seemed a little tired this morning. Drop off went well though.

Today, it was just Noah and me. It's been a while since we spent the day together. Maybe this will help some of his behavior problems.

We met the Moms Club playgroup for kids Noah age at Barnes and Noble. There was storytelling at 10:30 and then Noah played at the train table.

After that we went to Newflower (called Sunflower now) and picked up a few groceries. Noah insisted I buy bean sprouts.

When we got home I folded laundry while Noah played then we had lunch together. Noah ate all of the bean sprouts I bought today.

We walked to pick up Evan. I took a few short cuts and it only took 15 minutes to get there. We we were there early and talked to some other parents and siblings. Noah's friend Ella was there, but Noah was being really shy and covering his face with his hat. When Evan's class came out Noah ran up to see Evan.

Evan was in a good mood, but tired. He sat in the stroller the whole way home.

Once we were home, he and Noah had a good time playing together for a little. Then, I had them have a quiet time for a little bit. Noah stayed in the guest bedroom and Evan was in the game room.

For dinner we had tacos. Noah is still eating his food. We all finished a while ago and cleaned up but he's still messing around eating/playing.

Soon we'll go upstairs and get them to bed.

Meet the Teachers

We went to Morry's work today and then went out to lunch together. We figured this would be last work day for a while that Evan could come to Morry's work. The boys liked playing at Morry's desk. We ate lunch at Craig O's. It was a great place for the kids. The owner came over and gave the boys dough balls and a chocolate chip cookie. There was also a chalkboard on the wall behind us that they could draw on.

We dropped Morry off at work and then went to Barnes and Noble. I read some Hawaii books while the boys played at the train table.

We were home for a little bit and then I was time to go to the open houses at the school.

First, we went to Evan's school. His teacher seems really nice. We have heard really good things about him.

Then, at Noah's school we spent a lot of time. Noah and Ms. Terry were very happy to see each other. There were a lot of kids and their siblings playing in the room. Noah seemed totally comfortable even though it was a new room for him.

Morry got the boys dinner ready while I ran out to pick up our food at Blue Bamboo and I got more food for Lizzy while I was out.

We just finished dinner.

Tonight is clean up night. Well, really it should have been last night. The boys have a lot of cleaning up to do.

Here's a video from today.

More Crying from Noah

I'm trying to write the blog and again Noah is crying and throwing a fit. We don't even know why. He just picks something to argue about and then doesn't stop.

Earlier in the day we went to Barnes and Noble and Sams Club.

The boys played outside this afternoon.

For dinner, we tried out a new Thai restaurant, but it wasn't that good. It was just ok. The boys weren't well behaved there either.

I guess I need to go try to deal with Noah now.

Celebrating our Anniversary

This morning I dropped the kids off at school and then tutored a student at the bookstore. It is finals week so she didn't have class this morning.

After tutoring I went back to Evan and Noah's school to Evan's parent teacher conference. All good things... Evan's teacher said he is doing well, progressing like he should, and getting along well with others. It was good to hear.

I had a little bit of time to go home and have lunch and then turn around and pick up the boys.

Noah wouldn't nap.

Gabby came at 4.

I tutored one student and then met Morry for dinner at Gumbos. We had a nice anniversary dinner. We sat on the covered patio and had a nice, relaxing meal.

We just got home. Gabby was getting the boys ready for bed.

Morry is reading to them now.

Let's hope they go to bed easily tonight. They were both up very late last night.

Monday

This morning we actually got some rain. I'm glad it waited until today and not during the party yesterday.

Evan, Noah, and I went to the gym. Then, we went to Party City to return some things we didn't use for the party. Party City is near the bookstore so we went into Barnes and Noble for a little bit. The boys love playing with the trains there.

At home, the boys ate lunch outside. Noah started getting cranky around that time.

I tried putting him down for a nap but he didn't sleep and kept needing to go potty.

Gabby came at 3:45 and I went to tutor.

On the way home from tutoring I stopped at the bank. I needed to open a SEP retirement account for tax purposes. It took a long time for some reason and I didn't get home until 6:30.

For dinner we had leftovers.

We are all pretty tired right now.

Tomorrow is another big day. It's Evan's birthday. We'll bring cupcakes to school. For dinner Evan said he wanted crab. We gave him a choice between Joe's Crab Shack and Red Lobster. He said he wants Red Lobster.

Soon, we'll put Evan and Noah to bed. Let's hope they are not up too late.

Evan's First Baseball Practice

Evan had his first baseball (tee ball) practice today. We went to the field at 12:30. His team has both 5 and 6-year olds on it. Some of the kids were on the team together last year. They split up in to different groups. Evan was with other kids who were first-timers. The coach taught them about the bases. They did some drills catching a grounder and running to a base. Then, they also did a relay like game running around the bases. Evan got the prize (a gatorade bottle) for best listener. Afterward, Evan told us he had a good time. He was pretty worn out.

After practice we all went to Barnes and Noble. I was meeting a student there for tutoring. Morry and the boys hung out in the kid's section while I tutored.

For dinner we had a frozen Chinese dinner and then ran out to HEB to get some food for tomorrow night. We decided to have a fondue dinner at home for Valentine's Day.

When we got home we put the boys to bed and they fell asleep pretty quickly. They were both worn out.

Here are some pictures and video from Evan's baseball practice today.

Cold Again

It got really cold again today. It was in the 20s this morning. We had a little bit of rain, but luckily it dried up and didn't cause any problems.

Around lunch time Evan, Noah, and I went to Barnes and Noble. We needed to buy a book for a book exchange in Evan's class. Evan randomly picked Jake. He had to interview him to find out what kind of books he likes. Jake said he likes bears and Star Wars. We picked up a Berenstain Bears book about baseball for him. At Barnes and Noble I ran into a high school/junior high friend of mine. Neither of us knew the other lived in Austin. She later sent me a facebook message with her phone number.

Morry worked from home during the afternoon today.

Gabby came at 4 and I tutored late.

Morry took the boys to Burger King for dinner. Evan wanted to go there because of a commercial for a toy they have.

The boys seem to be asleep now.

Running and Running Errands

This morning I wanted to go for a run, but Noah didn't want to get dressed. So, Noah went in his pajamas in the stroller. I'm not sure whether I should fight him and get him dressed or just not fight the battle.

I took Lizzy and had the boys in the stroller. I ran 3 miles in the neighborhood.

Later, we went to Old Navy to get some winter clothes on clearance and then to the bookstore next door. Evan and Noah enjoyed playing with the trains and then they picked out a cookie to share. They always choose the same one - sugar cookie with sprinkles.

When we got home Noah actually took a nap. I put on a movie for him and he fell asleep in his room.

Morry went out to dinner with a friend so the boys and I just had dinner at home.

Morry came home around 8:15 and we put the boys to bed.

They are in their rooms, but not asleep.

Getting Things Done

Last night Noah was up in the middle of the night. He wasn't going back to sleep, so eventually we just let him cry. Then, Evan came in our room around 4am and he spent the rest of the night in bed with us.

Noah slept late this morning.

I vacuumed and cleaned up some. Then we went to Barnes and Noble for a little bit. After that we went to Newflower.

Gabby came over at 4. I tutored late. Morry and the boys had dinner here while I was tutoring.

I got home around 8:45pm. Noah was asleep but Evan was still up.

Here are pictures from our trip.

I'm hoping to get the video up soon. It's uploading now to YouTube but it takes a long time.