Friday with Wade

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It seemed especially bright this morning on our walk to school.  Both boys were in good moods.

Rachel did work for Kick Pleat in the morning and I worked on some stuff for HomeAway.

We went to Wholy Bagel for lunch.  Even though we went at the same time as we normally do, they were pretty cleaned out of bagels.

After lunch I went into Aaron's.  I had to show him what I had done on HomeAway since I won't be able to work on it next week.

Rachel went to pick up Noah.  Evan went over Wade's after school.  It's become a Friday tradition.

We picked up Evan and went to a new Asian restaurant that serves both Chinese and Vietnamese.  It was pretty good.  The boys seemed to like it.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Celebrating Noah's Birthday at School

This morning Evan gave me a hard time getting ready for school. Luckily it was pajama day in Noah's classroom, so it didn't take long to get him ready.

After I dropped the boys off at school I went to HEB to pick up cupcakes for Noah's class and then went to Target.

I came home for a little bit and then got to school about 12:15. Evan said he wanted to come to Noah's party so we picked Evan up from his class first. In Noah's room they were finishing lunch. Evan joined them at the table for lunch since his class hadn't started eating yet. After the kids finished their lunch we passed out cupcakes and sang happy birthday. Noah enjoyed being the center of attention.

After cupcakes the kids went outside to find hidden gold coins.

When we got home from school I tried putting Noah down for a nap. He didn't sleep.

Both boys were pretty cranky in the afternoon so I thought going outside would help. Evan enjoyed riding his scooter and bike, but Noah kept getting frustrated riding his tricycle. He still doesn't understand how to pedal and steer.

For dinner we made a Wanchai Ferry frozen Chinese dinner. The boys ate their food well. Evan had pasta and Noah had hot dog.

For dessert we gave them the choice of cupcake or grapes and they choose grapes. They just wanted the ring off the top of the cupcake and they were happy.

We are going to put the boys to bed now.

here are some pictures and videos from today.

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.

Sunny Day

We finally had a nice day today. It was cool, but nice and sunny. We still took it easy even though Evan is feeling a lot better.

I went for a 3 mile run with the boys in the stroller and Lizzy. I packed lunch for them to eat, but they didn't eat much of it.

Gabby came at 2:00. I had a 2:30 check up appointment with Dr. Patt, my Austin oncologist. Everything looked good. I see her again in 3 months. In February I'll have my appointments in Dallas with all of my doctors there.

When I came home Noah was watching a movie in his room for nap time.

The boys played outside for a little while while I started getting their dinner ready.

Morry stopped off at HEB on the way home and we just made a quick frozen Chinese meal for dinner.

I tutored 1 student after dinner and Morry took care of the boys.

I got home about 8:45 and the boys were in the rooms, but still playing.

Shmevan showed up

Shmevan showed up this morning. I don’t know where he came from. Every Thursday during the summer at Evan’s school they have water day. When I tried to get his swim suit and sunscreen on he threw a fit and it escalated from there. I barely got him strapped into the car seat. I had to pry him off my leg when I was leaving his classroom. I’m not sure what the deal was, but the rest of the day he was ok.

I dropped Noah off at Alena’s house and came home for a little bit.

I tutored from 11 -12.

I was planning on bike riding to pick up the boys, but it started raining.

I drove to pick up Evan and then we went to Alena’s house. We hung out there for a little while and then I brought the boys home.

Noah napped and Evan watched TV.

For dinner we made a frozen Chinese dinner I got today in the mail (packed in dry ice) for the blog. It was quick and easy.

Morry and I folded a ton of laundry today. We had 3 baskets piled high.

We just put Evan and Noah to bed, but they are both still awake.

Morry’s turn

Well, Morry got the stomach bug now too. He started feeling bad last night and didn’t go to work today. We didn’t get much sleep last night. Evan was up coughing. Morry put the humidifier in his room and after that Evan slept better. Lizzy woke us up barking at one point.

After I dropped Evan off at school Noah and I went to Target. I have needed to go for a few days and today I finally felt ready to try shopping. I got what I needed and it wasn’t too bad. I gave Noah a squeaky ball to play with to keep him busy while I shopped.

I’m still not feeling great. I did just a little cleaning. I started the laundry, though the clothes aren’t folded and I mopped the kitchen floor. It was filthy. But, that’s all I could manage to do today.

When I picked Evan up at school Wendy told me Evan bumped heads with another kid today. She said both he and the other kid were just playing and somehow bumped into each other. Evan cried and they took him inside for a little bit, but he seemed fine when I picked him up. I could barely tell where Evan hit his head. I don’t think it hurt him too bad, because he didn’t even tell me when I first walked in. Normally, if something big, or unusual happens, he tells me first thing.

When we got home Morry was laying on the couch watching a DVD with an old Steelers Super Bowl Game. Evan watched a little, but then we went upstairs for naps. Morry even went upstairs for a nap.

I heard Evan crying through the monitor so I went to his room. He was trying to get his Geo Trax out of the closet and was getting frustrated that he couldn’t get the box out. I took it out for him. He ended up not napping and just played with Geo Trax in his room for a while.

Blanca came at 4:00, so I could tutor. I got home around 7:00 and ate leftover Chinese food from last night.

Evan and Noah were cranky tonight so we put them to bed somewhat early. I still hear some movement in both of their rooms though.

Still recovering

Evan got up early this morning. He was up when Morry was leaving for work.

I still was not feeling good today, so we just stayed in the house all day. I even canceled my tutoring again.

I took Evan and Noah in the backyard for a little bit so we could get some fresh air. Noah enjoyed crawling in the grass. Evan played on the playscape for a while. I put Noah on the slide a few times and he seemed to like it. Noah would clap when he got to the bottom.

After lunch Evan and Noah took naps. Evan slept for over 3 hours.

We just had dinner. We ordered Chinese food. I was able to eat a little.

Evan is playing baseball with Morry right now (inside the house). In a few minutes we’ll take Evan and Noah upstairs and get them ready for bed.

Town Lake

This morning Evan was giving me a hard time again. I was planning on going for a run, but he was complaining he didn’t want to go in the stroller. I talked to Yenis and she said they were planning on walking at Town Lake and invited us to join them. I thought would be better than running around the neighborhood. Evan and Noah like going to the lake. There ‘s lots to look at and Evan gets to run around some.

We met Kevin and Yenis at 11:15. Yenis and I ran to where the ducks are and we stopped to feed them bread. Evan enjoyed throwing large chunks of bread in the water.

After that we let Evan and Kevin walk on the trail. They did pretty well and mostly listened to us. It was pretty crowded today and there were lots of people walking and biking. We had to really watch out for the bikes. After a while we put Evan and Kevin back in the strollers. Evan fought it some, but after a little while he was ok.

When we were getting in the car Evan said he wanted a smoothie from Jamba Juice. I told him we weren’t going to go there, but I’d make him a smoothie at home. He seemed ok with that.

At home, I made a smoothie and fed Noah. Evan didn’t want to eat anything else for lunch.

The boys went down for naps around 2:30. They both took good naps. They needed them. Noah woke up in the middle of the night last night and was up for a while.

For dinner, Morry and I didn’t feel like making anything so we orde

red Chinese food. It took over an hour to get here. The food was ok, but we ended up eating late.

We just gave Evan and Noah baths and put them to bed.

Playgroup at our house

This morning we had playgroup at our house. I was busy this morning getting last minute stuff made and put out on the table. The playgroup went well. One of the moms is pregnant and due December 27 so we had a little shower for her as well. The kids played well together. Noah started crying at one point. I knew he wasn’t hungry since I just fed him. I though he was probably tired. I was standing up holding him and a few minutes later he fell asleep on me. I ended up sitting down for a little while so he could get a nap in. Evan ate a ton of cookies. There were leftover cookies from cookie decorating at school yesterday so I put them out on the table. Every time I turned around Evan was getting another cookie. Normally I wouldn’t let him eat so many, but on playgroup days I tend to be a little more relaxed.

We ordered an entertainment center to hold our new TV and it was scheduled to be delivered today between 12:30 and 4:30. I put Noah down for a nap a little before 3, but Evan was still up playing while I cleaned up from playgroup. At about 3:00 the men from Lacks came to deliver and set it up. Evan was very interested in the big truck. I took him outside to look at it. While we were outside Evan looked into the upstairs window and saw Lizzy. He thought it was funny that Lizzy was looking out the window at the truck and he wanted to go upstairs too and look out the window.

It was about 3:30 by the time I took Evan to his room for a nap. He never slept. It got quiet at times, but I don’t think he was sleeping.

For dinner we went to Suzy’s (Chinese). Both Evan and Noah ate a bunch of edamame.

We just gave the boys a bath and put them to bed. I hope they sleep well tonight since we have a big day tomorrow. The train ride is at 3:00, so most likely they will not get naps tomorrow.

Gelato

We met Kevin and Yenis.. Alissa also came with us. We went to a place called Teo, a coffee and gelato shop. We got there around 11 and they still didn’t have the gelato out for the day. I guess it was still early? They had a few to choose from. I got Evan a cookies and cream, and I had half cookies and cream and half pumpkin. It was good and Evan finished all of his. We sat outside. It was a little humid, but still nice.

After we ate we walked around the shopping center. It was a cute little area with lots of small unique shops. We went in a toys store that sells man-made wood toys. There’s even a window where you can watch them make the toys. Kevin and Evan had a great time. They had various musical instruments, trains, rocking horses, … Noah seemed to like looking at all the stuff too.

On the way home we stopped at Big Lots. Evan enjoyed walking around the store. He kept picking random items off the shelf that he wanted to bring home with us. I did buy Evan a couple of toothbrushes. They had comic strip character toothbrushes, so I bought him a Hulk and Spiderman toothbrush.

Blanca came to babysit at 4:45 since I had students to tutor. She stayed until Morry got home. I got home around 8 and we ordered Chinese food for dinner. It was just ok. They gave us egg rolls instead of spring rolls, which neither one of us ate.

Sept. 22

You can now also see the blog at http://www.thebelkins.com

Conversation with Evan today...

Evan: Noah’s Chinese

Rachel: Noah is not Chinese

Evan: No, he’s a big boy

I wonder what Evan thinks Chinese means?

Went for a run(1.5mi)/walk(1.5mi) with Lizzy (the dog) and Evan and Noah in the stroller. Then, we went to the library and got a couple of kid’s movies for Evan. One is about Cars, Trains, Trucks, and Planes. The other is some ABC thing. After the library we went to Hobby Lobby. I needed to pick up a few things. Getting out of the car Evan was thowing a fit for some reason. He had a car in his hand but didn’t want to leave it in the car and didn’t want to take it with him. I told him he could take it, but that seemed to make him even more upset. I had to pretty much drag him out of the car. As we were walking through the parking lot I was trying to push the stroller with one hand and hold a cranky toddler with the other. This woman getting into her car saw us and said something like “Don’t worry, Mom. It will get better.” Once in the store Evan was a lot better. Evan walked while I pushed Noah in the stroller. Evan loved that store. In the sewing department he found this little tape measure that winds up in a little circular case. You can pull out the measuring tape and then press a little button and it all winds back up. He loved that little thing. It kept him busy for most of the time. Both boys were great in the store. Noah was awake most of the time and Evan was pretty good about staying with me. It was so hard to find someone working there to help me. At one point I just grabbed the first employee I saw and asked him a question. He seemed confused and was not understanding what I was saying. At first I thought he didn’t speak English or something but then somehow he commutated that he was deaf. He opened this little notebook he had and pointed to a phrase, “Just a moment. I will find someone to help you.” I wish I could have communicated with him. The only signs I know are from Baby Signing Time. I could have told him, “more” and “dog” in sign language but that wouldn’t have helped us much. After he got someone to help us he signed “Thank you”. I signed it back to him and really smiled. I guess he appreciated that I was trying.

By the time we got home it was 1:00 something. I quickly made cat grilled cheese for Ev. That is grilled cheese with cats cut out using a cookie cutter. I sat Evan down and put Noah in the high chair so I could get Noah’s cereal (3 tbsp cereal, 3 tbsp juice, about 1tbsp applesauce) ready. Noah was crying the whole time I was trying to make his food. I finally got it made and sat down and he wolfed it down. That kid can eat!

Before I went to put the kids down for their naps I took out 2 pita pockets from the fridge so I could make a sandwich when I got back down. I purposely put them away from the edge of the counter. Somehow, when I made it back downstairs there was only 1 pita pocket sitting there and I know Mottel (the cat) didn’t eat it.

By the time I sat down for lunch it was 3:30. That’s about the time I normally end up eating lunch since it is so hard to feed both boys and myself, and get them down for a nap at a decent time.

After dinner I tutored 2 students. I was gone from 7-10pm. Morry took care of the boys tonight. While I was gone Jonah called Morry and asked if Evan would be the ring bearer in their wedding. That will be fun!