Back to School + Crazy 2020

 Hello again... after a long, long time.

I kept thinking I should write on the blog again, and here we are.

So, here's what's been going on in the last several months.

On March 12, the Thursday before Spring Break, Morry and the boys were looking forward to their annual Spring Training Florida trip.  We were starting to hear about more and more COVID-19 cases and by the end of the day, Spring Training was canceled.

On March 13, we got an automated call from the school district saying all schools and offices would close that day in order to remain vigilant and healthy.

So, pretty much everything started shutting down after that.

Spring Break was extended and the kids went back virtually on April 3.

Since then, we have mostly stayed at home except for occasionally shopping and outdoor activities.

Evan went back to baseball and they had several games and practices this summer.

We also got a kitten. A friend of mine need to quickly find a home for a kitten and we volunteered to "help". 

Here's Pixel.

Over the summer, instead of going to Europe as planned, we updated our kitchen and some other areas of our house.  We added wood floors in the kitchen, removed the half wall between the living room and dining room, removed our old kitchen island and column, and replaced it with an counter-height island.  We also had the cabinets painted and other walls in the house painted.  Oh, and we put tile in the laundry room and bathroom.

Before:

After

Tomorrow, we go back to school.  The kids start their online school. Evan is now in 9th grade at high school and Noah is in 7th grade in middle school. 

My school is going back in person tomorrow.  I'll be teaching two middle school math classes.  I'm hoping to use the outdoor classroom as much as possible.

That's it for now.  I took videos and pictures over the last few months and will add more of those later.

Wet Noah

Hello everyone this is Morry.

This morning was Rachel's first day of school.  They had several welcome activities so Rachel needed to be at the school earlier than normal.  She left shortly before the boys went to the bus stop and I took Chewie for a walk.

Rachel ran a few errands on her way home and got home after lunch.

When the boys left school, it started raining.  Evan has been making Noah sit with him on the bus to and from school each day.  Evan took it a step further today, and made Noah sit by the window and Noah was not allowed to close the window while they were driving.  It's not clear how the window came to be open.  I don't know if Evan also opened the window.  In any event, Noah came home somewhat wet.

Rachel tutored in the late afternoon.  Evan went over to Grandma and Papa's for dinner not too long after Rachel left.

For dinner, I grilled hamburgers for Rachel, Noah and me.  Then we walked to Grandma and Papa's to get Evan.

The boys are upstairs playing now.

Until next time...

This week

This week we were pretty busy.  I worked more hours this week since I'm subbing and covering for a teacher that is out of town.  I'm subbing tomorrow and Monday for her as well.

Yesterday, I was at school from 10:30am - 4:00pm.  Straight from there, I tutored 2 different students. Then, I picked up Noah from Grandma and Papa's house.  Was home for a few minutes and went back out to tutor another student.

Evan had baseball practice yesterday and got a ride home from Cooper.  Morry had a fantasy football draft last night.

Today, I did not walk Noah to school since I teach on Tuesdays and Thursday at 8am. 

After I was done with my school duties around noon I went to Charles Maund to sign the monthly papers and get my oil changed.

Morry and I walked to pick up Noah today.

This afternoon, there were no activities going on for once.

This evening, we went to H-E-B to buy groceries, get graph paper for Evan, and pick out some food for dinner.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Update on LIzzy and Noah's Poetry Reading

This morning we walked to school.

Morry and I dropped Lizzy back off at the vet.

I met Noah for lunch at 11:25.  After his lunch, his class went to recess and I helped set up the classroom for the poetry reading.

The poetry reading was at 12:30.  Morry, Marilyn, and Papa came.  The class was transformed into a cafe and the kids wore berets and mustaches while they read their poems. Noah did a great job.  Here's the video.  You'll need to turn up the volume.


I helped clean up and then came home.

Morry and I walked to pick up the boys.

Right after we got home I left to tutor and Morry and Evan picked up Lizzy from the vet.

Lizzy is doing a lot better, but still a little weak.   She's on steroids now which will hopefully help.

When I got home we all went to dinner at Me Con Bistro.

Soon the kids will get ready for bed.  The last day of school is tomorrow.

Maya Goes to School (Twice)

This morning we walked the boys to school even though it was 31 degrees.

When we got home I got dinner ready in the crockpot.

Around 10:15 I met Maya and Jen at Grandma and Papa's house and we walked to meet Noah at school for lunch.

Noah's lunch started at 10:49. We had a nice time sitting with Noah.  Then, we walked back to Grandma and Papa's house.

Evan's lunch starts at 12:30, so we walked back to school a little while later to meet Evan.  Evan was surprised and very happy to see us.  We had told him we might not be able to come depending on Maya's mood.  We ate lunch with Evan on the stage, where the visitor's table is.  We had a nice time with Evan too.

We walked back to Grandma and Papa's house and then I went home.

Morry and I walked to pick up the boys from school.

Around 6:30 everyone came to our house for dinner.  We had garlic chicken, asparagus, and baked potatoes.  They left a little while ago.

Soon, the boys will get ready for bed.

Here are some pictures from today.

Noah's Thursday

This morning I ate blueberry muffins.  We drove to school because it was wet outside.

At school I made a pumpkin on paper because my substitute told us the numbers to color in.  I didn't have recess because it was too wet.  I had indoor recess.  It was like free centers in kindergarten.

After school Mommy and Daddy picked Evan and me up from school.  We drove home.

While Evan went to baseball practice with Daddy, Mommy and I watched TV and snuggled.

We are hungry and waiting for Evan and Daddy to come home.

- Noah

Day #3

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

So far the mornings have worked out really well.  Noah sometimes is difficult when you wake him up but he's been terrific every morning.  It's been very easy getting him up and he seems excited to go to school.

Rachel has been walking with us to school which has been nice. I think the boys have enjoyed having Rachel come to school with us.  On the way while we were walking in, Jack rode up on his bike with his dad and sister.  Evan and Noah ran along with Jack while Jack slowly rode his bike.  Eventually Jack just got off his bike and the three boys walked together the rest of the way to school.

I had a meeting this morning that I went to and then ran some errands.

Rachel had her first tutoring of the new school year so I walked to get the boys.  Noah was in a very good mood when I got him.

The boys read by themselves for their homework when we got home.  Rachel got home around 4:45.

We had leftovers for dinner.  Evan is outside practicing baseball.  Noah is on the Wii.

Until next time...

Many Activities

This morning Jack came over to play.   He went home for lunch, but after lunch Evan went over to Jack's house to swim.

Noah and I picked up Evan from Jack's house and came back home for a few minutes so that Evan could change clothes.  Then, we all walked to school for meet the teachers and to drop off supplies.  That went well.  Evan's teacher seemed nice.  Mr. Valdes seemed happy to see both boys.

We came home for a little bit and then walked to the Circle C community center for food trailer night.  There were a ton of people there.  Morry and the boys got pizza.  I got a wrap.  We all had shaved ice for dessert.

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

Good School News

This morning I took the boys to the pool.  They had a good time.

We ate lunch at home and spend most of the afternoon at home too.

Around 5:30 we met Jack's family and walked to school. They were having a little event there with vendors and display of the class lists.  Noah got Evan's kindergarten teacher (who we really liked) and he has his friend Cole in the class with him.  We don't know anything about Evan's teacher, but he has 3 friends in the class and he was happy about that.  It was all good news.  The boys got shaved ice there and then we walked home.

For dinner we had pasta.

We just got the boys ready for bed.

Evan's Musical and Full House

This morning Noah was cranky and gave me a hard time for some reason.  Once he was at his gym class he was ok. 

After the Little Gym we picked up bagels and each got a lox sandwich.  Noah ate all of the capers and most of the lox.

We got Evan from school and shortly after Grandma and Papa arrived. 

I left to tutor and then met everyone at Evan's school.  Evan had his 1st grade music tonight.  The theme was Texas and they sang and danced to all kinds of Texas songs.  It was cute.  Evan danced the Cotton-eyed Joe.

When we got home Michael, Jen, and Maya had just gotten there.  The boys were so excited to see Maya.

For dinner we picked up Torchy's.  

Evan just read to Maya and Aunt Jen.

Now, the boys are in bed.

Workout

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, I got Evan up for school.  He didn't seem like he was in a good mood, though he didn't give me a hard time.  I just think he was tired.  I think he's just about ready for the school year to end.  Not that he doesn't like it, but it's been nearly 9 months of school now.

Noah got up while I was in the shower.  I got breakfast for him when I got out.  He seemed to be in a good mood. Rachel said he kept testing her later on though.  He asked for bread and jelly and then said he didn't want it...things like that.

This afternoon, Gabby came to babysit.  Rachel dropped her and Noah off to get Evan and then they all walked home.

I took Evan for a free class to test out this baseball program today.  They teach fundamentals but they also work on strength and how to throw right to gain velocity on pitches and bat speed.  It turns out that there was a boy there that Evan played tee ball with in his first year in tee ball.  For the first hour, they worked on core strength exercises.  They did many exercises up and down the stairs.  Then they used a heavy ball to twist their mid-section.  They got a band and exercised their arms and shoulders.  I wasn't sure what Evan would think of that.  He had never done it at all.  In the last 30 minutes they worked on throwing mechanics and moved into pitching as well.  I think Evan really enjoyed learning how to pitch.  I was very curious to hear what he thought at the end.  He said he really enjoyed it and wanted to do it again.  He liked it so much that when we got home, he went outside and played more baseball while I made dinner.

Rachel came home and we had dinner.  Then we put the boys to bed.  We're wondering if Evan may be sore tomorrow.

Until next time...

From Noah's view

Here's today's blog from Noah's view.  He's sitting on my lap.

I woke up around 8am and I went in the game room. I lied on the couch and then I put a blanket on me and went back to sleep.  I got up from the couch around 9am.

I got dressed and I ate a waffle.

Then, we went to school.

At school we went outside and I ate lunch.  I made a cookie man, like a gingerbread man.

Then, I got home.

Then, I walked to my brother's school with my dad.

Mommy went to tutoring.

At home we played Lego Star Wars with Daddy and we got to be characters.

Gabby came over.  We saw Evan play Lego Star Wars.  We played outside.

Then, Gabby left.

We ate dinner. For dessert I had Skilttles.

Then, I took a shower.

And now, we are writing the blog.

And next I will play on my computer before bed and then I'm going to go to sleep.

Crazy Morning

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Yesterday, Noah kept asking to come with me to take Evan to school.  He really wanted to ride bikes.  I told him if he went to sleep at a decent time I would wake him up.  He kept his end of the bargain so I kept mine.  I woke Noah up after getting Evan set up downstairs eating breakfast and watching the MLB channel.  When I was getting Evan's folder, lunch and backpack together I discovered that Evan didn't read his book last night.  So while he ate breakfast, I held the book and listened to him read.  It just happened to be a super long book this time so we were running late.  We finally got going and had sweatshirts and helmets on the boys.  As I was backing the bike out of the garage the chain popped off. We were already running late so I didn't have time to fix it.  So we ended up driving to school.

Noah played Star Wars Wii when we got home while I did work.

At 11am I had a normal cleaning at the dentist.  Rachel and Noah went to HEB to get food.  I got home shortly after Rachel and Noah because Rachel was still putting groceries away.

Rachel picked Evan up from school while Noah stayed here.

Rachel tutored and Blanca came over.  They played baseball and rode their bikes in the cul-de-sac.

For dinner, I picked up McDonald's for the kids and Popeye's for me.

Then we played some Wii and I put the kids to bed.

Until next time...

Sick Rachel and Meet the Teacher

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

I got up this morning and began to work.  The phone rang and it was Rachel using her cell phone from our room.  She had had such a bad coughing fit that she was light headed.  I brought her something to drink and her medicine.  She called the doctor's office to see what to do and they said the chest x-ray revealed that there was a small infection in part of her lungs so she does have pneumonia.  The nurse said the doctor would call back with more information.

I realized Rachel wasn't in a position to go get the last two things needed for Evan to go to bring to his classroom.  We had a big list of school supplies to get.  So I drove over to Target.  It was packed with people looking for the exact same things.  I got Evan the journal he needed but not the pencils.  The list was extremely specific, down to the brand.  So I ended up having to go to Office Depot as well.  I also picked up a notebook for Noah for his class.

When I got home, Rachel was downstairs.  She was able to get lunch for the boys and eat some stuff herself.

Evan, Noah and I got to Evan's school at 3pm to meet the teacher.  We walked the trail as usual.  I refused to park out front where every parent was going to park.  In fact, we would have ridden our bikes but we had to go to HEB afterwards to pick up a stronger antibiotic for Rachel and some prescription cough medicine.

Evan's classroom was very nice and bright and his teacher seemed very nice.  She shook Evan's hand when he got there and gave him a hug as he was leaving.  We bumped into some other families that we know.  It was good to see everyone again.

When we got to HEB the medicine wasn't ready.  I had called before we left to go to Evan's school to tell them when I was going to pick up the medicine.  The boys and I had to wait for 30 minutes.  I was not very happy.

I did some more work when I got home and then I went out and picked up food for us.  Rachel wanted something from Galaxy Cafe and I picked up a pizza for the boys and me.

While I was gone, Evan watched some movie about the first Mexican Little League team that won the Little League World Series.  Now Evan is determined to make it to the Little League World Series.  So after dinner, he and I went outside and played some baseball.

I put them to bed but somehow both kids are in the office with me.  I'm not sure how that happened.

Until next time...

Valentine's Day

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Noah stayed in Evan's room last night again.  The boys are doing pretty well with it.  Noah is still staying up too late, but he does that in his own room.  He's not keeping Evan up which is the important thing.

When I came in to get Evan up this morning, Noah woke up.  I asked him if he wanted to sleep on my side of the bed in "Mommy and Daddy's room" and he said yes so I carried him in there.  He fell back asleep and didn't wake up until around 10.

A couple weeks ago, a girl in Evan's class, Chloe, was walking into the cafeteria where the kids wait for their teacher to get them.  She waved to Evan.  Evan just looked at her and raced to their line to beat her there.  She saw that he was going to run and started to run too and actually had the right position.  However, Evan dove to the ground sliding in and beating her.  Well this morning, as we walked into the cafeteria, Chloe was about 15 feet ahead of us.  Something caused her to turn around and see Evan.  She then taunted him because she was about to be in line before him.  I'm not sure Evan liked it that much.

Rachel took Noah to Mandola's for lunch to meet the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls.  Rachel said that he was really well behaved and very talkative with the adults.

I went to Evan's class party for Valentine's Day.  Evan seems to be doing really well at school.  He seems very comfortable there.  The party ended at 2pm and they get out of school at 2:45.  Some parents just took their kids home at that time.  But Evan told me wanted to stay the rest of the day.  Rachel ended up walking to pick him up.

We went to HEB and picked up some already made food.  We got some fruit and vegetables too.  There were a lot of people buying last minute flowers.

We ate our dinner when we got home.

The boys are in bed now.  Until next time...

No Rachel: Day One

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

With Rachel gone this morning, Noah needed to come with us to take Evan to school. First I woke Evan up and made breakfast for him. Then I went and woke Evan up. Luckily Noah did not give me a hard time and got dressed right away. We drove to the walking path to school and then walked the rest of the way.

When we got home, I put a movie on for Noah downstairs. When that was over we went upstairs and I worked in the upstairs office while Noah played with GeoTrax.

I made Noah lunch and Blanca came shortly after. As I was working, I kept hearing Noah yell "Yes!", "All right!" loudly. I was guessing he was simply playing Wii. Then it got quiet. I went downstairs and Noah had asked Blanca to put WALL-E on. He looked very tired.

I left to go pick up Evan while Noah stayed home with Blanca. When Evan came out with his class, he saw me and got a big smile. Then he ran up. I was thinking he was going to say he was really happy to see me since I had never picked him up from school. He got over to me and he opened his mouth to speak. I thought me might say he was he liked me picking up. But he said "Where's Noah?" I'm glad that he and Noah are so close.

We got home and I did some more work. After I finished up, I came downstairs, made popcorn for the boys and started getting dinner together. I also got Evan's lunch ready for tomorrow as well.

After dinner, the boys cleaned up their rooms and we ran over to HEB to return the Redbox movies. I promised them if they cleaned up their rooms well, we could get Icees at HEB. They did it well and so we got Icees.

They are now in bed but not sleeping. Lights are off though.

Until next time...

First Day of School

We woke up the boys at 6:30am this morning.

Evan ate oatmeal, fruit, and orange juice for breakfast. Noah said he wanted to wait and eat when we got back home.

We left the house around 7:15am and walked to school. Noah insisted on walking instead of sitting in the stroller. He hardly ever walks, so we didn't plan on that slowing us down. It took a lot longer than we thought to get to school. We got there a few minutes before the start of school. Evan put his backpacks with the others and then sat down at a table and began coloring with the other kids. He was fine. We had to get his attention to tell him we were leaving.

We walked back home and then a little before 9am we drove Noah to school. Noah was a little more clingy than Evan. He still did well. It wasn't much of a transition for him. He moved classrooms but still had once of the same teachers. A few of the kids were same as well.

I came home and ran 2 miles, cleaned up and then went to a brunch. The Moms Club was having a Boo Hoo/Yah Hoo brunch at someone's house for all the moms that just sent their kids off to kindergarten. I stayed for maybe an hour. It was nice chatting with the other moms.

I had a little bit of time at home. I cleaned up some, ate lunch and then it was time to pick up Noah. His class was outside on the playground and he was having a fun time going down the slide. When it came time to leave Noah threw a fit. I told him we'd go home for a little bit and then pick up Evan. Well, he wanted to pick up Evan right then. He was screaming and crying that he wanted to go to the kindergarten and not go home first. It was not fun. He just picks something and decides he's going to throw a fit.

I gave him a Popsicle at home and that seemed to calm him down a little bit.

We were home for about 30-45min and then we had to leave to get Evan.

We walked because I knew the car traffic would be nuts on the first day.

We got there about 15 minutes early and chatted with some other moms and siblings of kindergarteners. They had all the kindergarten parents wait outside at a certain part of the building. Then, one by one the classes came out. Noah was very excited to see Evan. Evan seemed happy, but very tired.

Evan sat in the stroller the whole way home. Once we got home he got a burst of energy and both boys were really hyper.

For dinner Morry made grilled chicken and corn. The boys had shrimp and corn along with some other things.

Overall it was a good day. I think it will take a little time to get into a routine and figure out a good schedule for us. Tomorrow we will let Noah sleep in. Morry plans on walking Evan to school in the morning. I'll have to decide whether to drive or walk to pick him up. It was a pretty hot walk after school today.

here are some pictures... the videos are being uploaded now. I'll add them soon.

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.

Hot Errands

This morning I went for a run while pushing both boys in the stroller. I only did 2 miles. Combined the boys weigh 80 lbs.

Blanca came over and I ran some errands.

I went to Target and bought a lot of clothes for the boys. Evan especially needed some new clothes for school.

I also went to the pre-school to pick up Noah's bike.

Evan and Noah had a good time with Blanca. They played a lot of wii games.

This afternoon the boys and I went through their clothes and boxed up the clothes that no longer fit them. Noah got some of Evan's old clothes. Evan gets really sentimental. He didn't want me boxing up some of Noah's clothes. He got really upset over one shirt for some reason. I told him we weren't getting rid of it, just putting it in the attic. I went up in the attic to put the boxes up there and bring down some other clothes. Man, was it hot up there. Woah!

For dinner we had crock pot chicken.

Tonight was clean up night. The boys cleaned their rooms while I vacuumed.

Evan and Noah are supposed to be in bed, but I still hear them playing.

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school. It was Evan's last day at that school - his last day of preschool.

Noah threw a major, one-hour fit this morning. That was not fun.

While the boys were at school I went for a run and got some things done around the house.

Evan's class had a field trip to the pool (right next to school). I came a little early and met them there. Evan was having a great time in the pool.

Noah's class rode bikes and made ice cream sundaes.

After school we came home and the boys were pretty good. Noah did not nap.

For dinner we had corn on the cob. I had fish and Morry had pork.

As I left to take Lizzy on a walk I notice a couple of puddles in our grass in the front yard. It turns out we have some kind of sprinkler leak. Even though the sprinklers weren't running, somehow 2 of them were dripping water. Morry turned off the water to the sprinklers, so we'll have to figure out how to get those fixed now.

The boys are in their rooms, but not asleep yet.