Mother's Day at School

This morning both boys had Mother's Day parties at school. I could only stay for a few minutes because I had a 9:30 doctors appointment. In Noah's class they had donuts, some type of berry cake, and orange juice. Evan's room had muffins and they were making their own orange juice. Noah gave me a hand print picture and a photo magnet of him. Evan gave me bath salts and soap that I believe the class made together.

When I picked the boys up from school they were both in really good moods.

Gabby came at 4 and I tutored.

For dinner we went to Panera and ate outside.

The boys are in bed now.

Playgroup

This morning we had playgroup at our house.  I made muffins and Evan helped put the cups in the muffin pan.

Morry was home again today and it was nice having his help with the boys.

After lunch Evan and Noah took good naps.  I was able to take a nap as well.

For dinner we went to Texas Land and Cattle.  Evan and Noah were very well behaved and ate well.  Evan ate all of his shrimp and Noah ate all of his hotdog, minus the  bun.

The boys are in bed now, but still up talking/playing.

Sherah’s Family

This morning Aunt Susan, Sherah, JW, Nolan, Court, Lauren, and Presley (the girl that Lauren nannies for) came over. I made cranberry blueberry oatmeal muffins. Evan and Noah ate a ton of them. The kids all played really well together. Evan and Nolan played upstairs in the game room. For lunch I picked up Little Caesar’s pizza. Of course I had coupons. All of us ate for a total of $11.something.

After lunch we called Bubbe on Skype and then we all went in the backyard for a little while. It was hot out, but the kids didn’t seem to mind. We took a Popsicle break. Noah had his own Popsicle for the first time. He did great and ate the whole thing.

Sherah’s family went back to Aunt Susan’s for naps.

I put Evan and Noah down for naps, but only Noah napped.

For dinner we met Sherah, JW, Nolan, and Court at Red Robin. We had to wait a while for a table that could accommodate us. Luckily there were lots of things to keep the boys occupied. In the front of the restaurant were video games and candy/toy machines. Even though we didn’t give the boys any change they had a good time playing with all the stuff.

Dinner was good. And what made it even better? Morry, Evan, and I ate for free! All we had to pay for was our drinks. Morry and I each had coupons for free burgers for our birthdays and Red Robin is also having a promotion where kids eat for free. Good deal!

Evan and Noah are in bed now. It seems to be quiet.

The Zoo

This morning I made cranberry, blueberry, strawberry muffins. It was what we had in the house. Papa had a meeting to go to. We had breakfast with Grandma and then went to the zoo.

We all had a nice time. When we first got there we rode the train. Then, we fed some of the animals and walked around. We stopped at one point by the bear and monkeys to sit down and give the boys snacks. Evan walked the whole time. He was pretty worn out.

After the zoo we met Papa for lunch at Which Wich. Evan and Noah shared a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Evan also had chips and a rice crispy treat that came with his kids meal.

After lunch we came home and put the boys down for naps. Grandma and Papa drove back to Dallas.

Evan and Noah took good naps. They had a big day. We wore them out.

When they woke up we got dinner ready. We made a pasta salad like thing with zucchini squash, corn, and chicken.

When I was cleaning up from dinner, the sink broke. It wouldn’t turn off. If I put the faucet in the off position the water was still running. Morry was able to get under the sink and adjust it a little. At least he got the water off, but we still need to get it fixed. We’ll have to call someone in the morning.

We just gave Evan and Noah baths and put them to bed. Evan started crying again after we left his room. I just went in there to calm him down. He now has almost every one of his stuffed animals in bed with him. I don’t know if he is scared and wants them in bed with him or he’s just stalling by asking us for more things.

Getting Better and HEB

This morning it was my turn to take care of the boys and let Morry sleep in. While Morry was sleeping I made muffins. Evan helped me mix, but he kept running off with cranberries.

Morry came downstairs at almost 11. We ate breakfast and then went to HEB. We had a lot to buy and both boys were pretty good during the shopping trip. They are both feeling better today and are not quite as cranky. I saved us $10.88 in coupons today.

After we got home we put Evan and Noah down for naps. Noah slept, but Evan didn’t.

After naps, Morry ran out to pick up dinner at Pho Thai Son. We had a buy one get one free dinner. I was able to print it out from the Entertainment book web page. Morry and I ate our vermicelli dishes. Noah had some cheese and fruit. Evan had macaroni and cheese (minus the cheese). He wouldn’t let Morry mix the cheese in the pasta. Evan also ate a lot of fruit.

Right now Evan is sitting on the potty downstairs. He hasn’t done anything yet. I think he’s just stalling because he knows it almost bedtime.

Small Playgroup

No one volunteered to host playgroup today, so last night I sent out an email saying I could have people over at our house. Since it was last minute only a few people replied. It turned out only one kid ended up coming. Marissa (and Bodar and baby brother, Espen) came over this morning. We had a very nice time. The kids had fun playing with each other. Noah was very curious about the baby. I made blueberry/cranberry oatmeal muffins for the playgroup. Since it was last minute, I hadn’t gone shopping so I just made muffins using what we had in the house. They turned out pretty good. Evan ate a ton of them. I also cut up oranges and Bodar brought clementines. Evan ate a lot of the oranges and clementines as well. Noah didn’t seem to like the muffin, but he did eat quite a few animal crackers.

After playgroup I let Evan and Noah play for a little while and then I put them down for naps.

Right around the time Morry got home Evan woke up. We spent some time upstairs. I was getting some things together to get rid of (baby toys, etc) while Morry hooked up the tv and components upstairs in our old entertainment center we moved upstairs.

For dinner we went to Mimi’s Café. We ate for free. Yes, you heard me. Evan, Morry, and I had free dinners. A little while ago we ate at Mimi’s and were disappointed with the service. We had to wait a really long time for everything and they didn’t give the kids a snack plate. I wrote a little message through their website saying although the food was good, we were disappointed with the service. I got a call from the manager and he invited us to come back and dine on them. The service was a lot better this time. All we paid was $9 for the tip.

The boys are playing now and we are about to put them to bed.

Playgroup day

Today we went to playgroup. It’s been a while since we’ve gone. Playgroup was at Marissa’s house (in Evan’s class at school). Their house is pretty close so we walked. Well, I walked and the boys rode in the stroller. It was a nice time. Evan ate a ton of muffins. They had a plate of small muffins out and every time I turned around Evan was eating another one. Last time we were at Marissa’s house Evan played with one of her toy trains. He remembered and asked me where it was. I told him to ask Marissa and she said it was upstairs. Bodar, Marissa’s mom, must have heard and she offered to get it and bring it down for Evan. Both Evan and Noah enjoyed playing with the train. I put Noah down on the floor with the other kids and toys and he seemed to want to be near Evan and playing with whatever Evan was playing with.

After playgroup we went home and ate lunch. During lunch Evan said he wanted a Popsicle. After lunch we went in the backyard and I let Evan eat a Popsicle. He offered some to me and Noah. With the first few bites Noah took he made a really funny face. It must have been sour. It made Evan and I laugh and Evan wanted to give Noah more so he would make that face again.

Evan and Noah took good naps. Evan slept until about 6:30.

We went to dinner at Serranos. When we walked in the door there was a sign posted that said if you bought at $25 gift card you got an extra $5 for free. So, while we were waiting for our table I went up to the bar and bought a gift card for us to use at dinner. I wondered why more people didn’t do that. It was like getting a $5 coupon.

After dinner we went to Best Buy and then Target. At Best Buy we looked at washer/dryers. We are going to need new ones soon. Ours now are more than 10 years old. Both take forever to wash/dry. It looks like the best ones are LG and Samsung. Morry and I are trying to decide what to get each other for our Hanukkah present. It would be nice to get washer/dryers, but they are pretty expensive and not such a fun/exciting Hanukkah gift. I never thought I’d be asking for a washer/dryer for Hanukkah. We are trying to decide between that, a nice SLR camera, maybe a blue ray disc player? We’ll see.

Well, it’s late. It sounds like the boys are sleeping now. I hope they let us sleep in a little tomorrow morning.

Oh, one more thing. Evan got a kid's digital camera for Hanukkah from Marilyn. He loves it and really understands how to take pictures. He's doing well taking pictures on his own. Here are a few pictures Evan took all by himself.

Trying to feel better

So, today was my turn to bring in snacks for Evan’s class. Every other Thursday is pizza day and the moms take turns bringing in sides or snacks to go with the pizza. I (with Evan’s help) made blueberry muffins last night and cut up some apples and grapes. Last night Evan wanted a blueberry muffin, but we told him he had to wait until school to eat one and he could tell everyone he helped make them.

Well, as soon as we got to school today Evan ran up to Wendy and told her about the muffins and that he helped make them.

Before school I left Noah at home with Blanca. After dropping Evan off I went to Starbucks to tutor. A 63 year-old man going back to school needs help with the math part of the GRE so he contacted me. It was our first time meeting so we met at Starbucks. Most likely we’ll meet twice a week for a couple of hours until he takes the GRE in January or February.

After tutoring I came home and did some stuff around the house. I washed clothes, fed Noah, and ate lunch. Then it was time to get Evan.

Evan seemed tired when I picked him up. In his folder there was a picture he had made. It is on blue construction paper and looks like maybe they used some kind of chalk. Under the drawing it says, “It’s and airplane!”

Noah took a nap, but Evan didn’t. He just played in his room for a little bit.

Blanca came at 4 and then I went to tutor 2 more students. I came back at 7:30. Morry made pizza for us for dinner.

I’m feeling better today, though still not great. I took Mucinex last night and it helped me sleep. I just hope the boys don’t get sick. Morry said he’s starting to feel sick. Hopefully, he doesn’t get sick. He’ll be in some very cold and wet weather in just a few days. I'm on antibiotics so I don't think I'm contagious now.

Cranky Day

So, last night was pretty rough. Noah didn’t sleep well. He got a little cold and it was keeping him up. Evan must have heard Noah crying. So, Evan didn’t sleep well either. Both boys were up for the day around 7am.

This morning Evan helped me make pumpkin muffins (http://www.recipezaar.com/6957 ) I also made beer bread (http://www.recipezaar.com/35390 ) since I had all the baking stuff out anyway. I was trying to find a bread recipe and then saw one that used beer. I thought that was great. We have a bunch of beer left over in the fridge from my birthday party in July. We never drink beer so it is a great way to use it up. For the beer bread I used whole wheat flour instead and also added some flax seed meal as one person suggested on the site. Both things were good. Evan liked the muffins so much that he had almost 3 for lunch and another one for dinner. We had the beer bread with dinner tonight and Morry said he liked it too. Morry saw a recipe he thought looked good in the Penzey’s magazine so we tried it out tonight. It was a cracker coated baked fish, but we used chicken instead. That was good also. So, we had a successful day food wise.

Both Evan and Noah were pretty cranky today. It made for a tough day. Noah would cry every time I had to set him down. I was able to make the bread and muffins because he slept in his swing for a little bit.