What we did today

This morning we walked to school.

Shortly after getting home Morry and I left for Camp Gladiator.  It's still going well.

I stayed at home today.  Morry ran out to get a smoothie.

We walked to pick up the kids from school.

I tutored this afternoon.

While I was gone Morry took the boys to Play it Again Sports.  They got a new/used bat for Evan and some football mouth guards.

For dinner we had burgers and potatoes.

Soon, we'll get the boys ready for bed.

Morry's Birthday

We really packed it in today.  Today was Morry's birthday.

This morning Noah had a birthday party of a friend of his.   The plan was for the 4 kids to meet at the birthday boy's house and then go to the movies (Minions Movie) together.

Evan and I dropped Noah off at his friends house at 9am and then we went to get some of Morry's favorite things.  We got a salt bagel from Wholy Bagel, a smoothie from Smoothie King, and cookies from Tiffs Treats.

We came home for a few minutes and gave Morry his gift and then we all went to The Minion Movie as well.

Noah's group sat a few rows behind us and seemed to be having a good time.  The movie was just ok, but the boys seemed to like it.

After the movies the birthday party group went back to the birthday boy's house for a little bit.

We came home and then a little while later I went to pick up Noah.  He had a lot of fun.

For dinner we ate at Genghis Grill.

After that we went on an Austin Ghost Tour.  I called a few days ago to make sure it was family friendly.  It was a combination of Austin history and mysterious stories.  The boys were really fascinated.  They had a great time.  After the tour we walked around downtown for just a little while.

We just got home and boys are in bed now.  It's been a long, but fun day.

Here are some pictures from today.

Last Sunday Before School

Hello everyone, this is Evan (as told to Morry)

Today was last of summer vacation.  Flash woke me up this morning.  Then I played Wii and I had breakfast.  I had apples, yogurt with granola, and Wheaties and orange juice.

Later we had lunch.

After lunch, I got a smoothie with Daddy.  I finished it in 10 minutes.

Then Noah went to Cole's house.

When Noah was at Cole's house, Daddy and I watched a movie.  It was called The Nut Job.  We had popcorn and Dr. Pepper.

Then we cleaned up.

After that, we had dinner.  I had pasta.  For dessert I had cookie cake.

Now we're typing the blog.  Then I'll go to bed.

Lake and Noah's Playdate

This morning I wanted to take Noah and Lizzy to the lake. For some reason Noah threw a fit and didn't want to go to the lake. After a little while at home he changed his mind and decided he did want to go. We didn't have a lot of time so I ended up running most of the 3 mile trail to make sure I had time to finish. We were supposed to be at Cole's house at 12:30.

After the lake we met Morry at Smoothie King.

Then, we came home and I tried to give Noah lunch, but he didn't want to eat much.

He was so excited to get to Cole's house for a playdate. As soon as we walked in their house the boys ran upstairs and started playing. I talked to Cole's mom for a little bit and came home.

I picked up Noah just before 2:30 and then we went to get Evan at school.

At home, Evan and I played badminton outside for a little bit. The boys drew on their pumpkins. I got ready for tutoring.

Kim came at 3:45 and I tutored.

Morry took the boys to football practice.

For dinner we had leftover ham from last night.

We just put the boys to bed.

Sports Day

This morning we took it easy and then walked around the shopping center trail. After we walked we all got smoothies at Smoothie King.

We had lunch and then around 2:30 Morry's friend Kelsey came over. She's in San Antonio for work and came by to hang out for a little bit. She came to Evan's baseball game. Evan had a good game. He got some good hits.

Morry, Evan, and Kelsey went back to the house. Noah and I stopped at Target on the way home.

For dinner we had pasta.

Since the Steelers game was on during Evan's game, Morry recorded it. Morry and the boys are watching the game now. We'll put the boys to bed in a few minutes.

Still Sick Morry

Morry spent most of the morning in bed and then went into work. He didn't last long there. He really wasn't feeling well and came back home.

This morning Noah and I went to the police station. Susan G Komen Austin was having an event there and I offered to volunteer. They said it was fine to bring Noah with me. He got a lot of attention. One of the police officers gave a police badge sticker for both him and Evan (who was at school).

At home Noah helped me make a smoothie.

We picked up Evan at school and Kim came over at 3:45. She stayed until 6pm while I tutored. There was a little bit of time when it was just Morry and the kids before I was able to get home.

I picked up McDonalds for the boys on my way home. Morry still hasn't really eaten anything in the last 2 days.

I just got the boys ready for bed. Morry is reading to Evan now.

No Rachel: Day Two (Welcome Grandmom)

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Rachel was still in Dallas today so I again worked from home. Like yesterday, I had to get Noah up so we could take Evan to school. Evan and I went in to wake him up and he was sitting up in bed. I don't know why he was up, but it made it easy.

We drove to the path and then walked Evan into the school. Evan and Noah were hugging and saying goodbye and a boy named Ben called over to Evan and asked Evan to sit down next to him. Evan got a goofy grin on his face and looked at me and sat down. It was very cute. Evan asked Noah to give him a high five goodbye. He wouldn't let us leave until Noah gave him a hard high five. I think it took three tries.

We came home for a bit and then I drove Noah to school. He seemed to be in a very bad mood and I was worried about leaving him there. He wasn't giving me a hard time or anything, it just seemed like he didn't want to go.

I then went and got a smoothie and Smoothie King and took my car over to H2O Hand Car Wash to get the car washed. I had gotten a Groupon a while back and decided to use it. They have free WiFi there so I could do work from there.

I came home and worked some and then I had to go get Noah. He was in a very good mood when I went in. He was sitting next to Miss Terrie and doing the "Bear Hunt" song. He seemed very excited to see me. He said he had a good day. So that was good.

Gabby met us at home. She took care of Noah while I went and picked up Evan.

When Evan came out of school, he was holding a paper with a bunch of stickers on it. There were three boys around him all wanting to see this paper. I wasn't sure what it was. When he came to me, he said he had filled up his sticker chart and got to choose an item out of the "Treasure Chest". He chose an MP3 player shaped eraser. He was very proud. Apparently, they get a sticker for being helpful in class. Once you fill it up, you get to choose an item. Evan managed to get 20 stickers in the first 10 days of school. I asked him if he was the first to fill up his chart. He said he was the second. Nevertheless, I am very proud that he is so helpful at school. That is wonderful.

Also at school, each day they've been "introducing" a kid to the class. The child has to stand up and tell the class how old they are, what their favorite food is and what they like to do. It was Evan's turn today. He said he told the class his favorite food was crab and that he likes to play sports. I wonder if he's the only kid in his class whose favorite food is crab.

We were home for a bit and then we had to leave to pick Grandmom up. The boys were excited to see her. Once we got her, we had trouble finding a place to eat. Evan said he wanted to eat at the Olive Garden. It turned out to be a 40 minute wait. So then we tried BJs but we didn't even get out of the car. There were a ton of people waiting outside. We ended up at Carino's. The boys did really really well there.

The boys were hyper when we got home and it took a while to get them calmed down. While they were hyper, they were still fairly well behaved. We did get them in bed and they are sleeping now.

Until next time...

Aaron and Mandy's Wedding

This morning we went to Aaron and Mandy's wedding. It was nice seeing everyone.

After the wedding and party, on the way back to the car we stopped and got smoothies at Smoothie King.

At home Grandma, Papa, and Bubbe packed up their things and left a little while later.

Michael and Jen are still here. They leave tomorrow.

Here are few pictures from today and the dinner last night.

Night at the Golf Course

This morning Evan, Noah, and I went swimming at the gym. They were both really good.

After that we went to HEB.

We came home and had lunch and I tried to get Noah to nap.

At 6pm we went to the golf course near our house. Once a month they have life music and this month the event was benefiting Evan's new school. I took the boys and packed a picnic dinner. Morry met us there and bought a hamburger for himself there. Evan and Noah had a great time running around. There were lots of other kids there. We saw a lot of people we knew.

We came home and had a smoothie and then put the boys to bed.

Walk and Walmart

This morning Evan was pretty bad. He was throwing a major fit. I told the kids we were going to take a walk around the shopping center and then get smoothies. I threatened to not let Evan have a smoothie later on and he didn't seem to care. He was still misbehaving. So, after our walk, we went to get smoothies and Evan did not get one. I felt really bad, but he made the decision earlier. He was really upset at Smoothie King.

After that we went to Walmart. I needed to get groceries, but also some other things and Walmart pretty much has everything. We were there for a while. The kids were pretty good, so I let them get McDonalds (inside Walmart) for lunch.

Noah actually slept this afternoon.

For dinner we made one of those frozen Wanchai Ferry meals.

The boys are still awake. They are supposed to be in their rooms.

5 Miles

This morning we walked to the Starbucks, had some drinks and walked home. The whole walk was about 5 miles. It was hot out, but still a nice walk. Morry and the boys got smoothies and donuts. I got a frappaccino.

I made a smoothie when we got home. We were all so hot.

We tried to get Noah to nap, but he just played in his room. Evan watched School of Rock.

For dinner we made a noodle casserole.

After dinner we had the boys clean up their rooms and the game room, which really meant we did most of the cleaning.

Morry is reading to Evan and Noah now. Let's hope they go to sleep at a decent time tonight.

Good Noah

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The boys got up after 8am this morning. They were pretty loud while they were playing. At one point I heard them say that "Mommy and Daddy aren't the boss". And then they declared that they were the boss. I'm not sure how that came about.

The boys have been begging to go see the move "Hop" for weeks. We promised them we'd go today. We decided to take them to the Alamo Drafthouse to see the movie. We thought they'd like eating at the movie theater. They ended up not eating anything but popcorn there. I guess we could have just gone to the AMC. The movie was ok. Evan said he liked it. Noah said he didn't. I'm wondering if there was a scene that scared him.

On the way home, we stopped and got smoothies. They have milkshakes at the movies and we asked if they wanted one and Evan said no. When we got in the car Evan asked why we didn't get a milkshake. So to make it up, we got smoothies which we'd rather him have anyway.

When we got home, we put Noah down for a nap. He had been good all morning. He played in his room and never got upset. Eventually he fell asleep on the floor at his gate.

For dinner, we thought we had a Living Social coupon for the Mongolian Barbeque. We drove downtown and parked. The boys ate well and Noah was very well behaved. Unfortunately, when we paid, they said we had used it. Neither Rachel nor I remember using it.

We came home and put the boys in bed. They are still awake.

Until next time...

Run and HEB

Noah woke up around 5:30am for some reason. I was able to get him back to sleep and he slept until about 10am.

Once the boys were up and dressed we went for a run. I ran 3 miles and then let the boys walk/run some.

After the run I made a smoothie for all of us and we went to HEB. I had a ton of stuff to buy. We were there for a while.

I got dinner started.

Gabby came at 3:45pm and I tutored.

Morry finished getting dinner ready and I got home around 5:45pm.

I had to leave again at 6:45 to go tutor.

I got home around 8:45. The boys were in bed, but Noah was still awake.

Strep Throat

The boys slept in this morning and I had a doctor's appointment at 10:30pm.

The nurse came in first to take my vitals and immediately did a strep test. A few minutes later the doctor came in and had the results. I have strep. He checked my throat, ears, etc. He prescribed some antibiotics and something else to help my sore throat.

I stopped at HEB on the way home hoping my medicine would be ready, but it wasn't.

When I got home Morry and the boys were upstairs watching tv. Morry had to wake Noah up around 10:30.

A little while later we went back to HEB to get my medicine and then to Scooters (a coffee shop). Morry was hoping to get a Red Bull smoothie there, but they were out of Red Bull. Morry and boys got smoothies and I got a coffee. We sat at a table for a little while. The coffee shop has toys and games for kids. Evan and Noah had a good time playing with this all-in-one wooden board game table. It had lots of different games and pieces.

For lunch we had leftovers.

Evan and Noah didn't nap and both were getting pretty cranky by the end of the afternoon. For dinner the boys had leftover pizza. Morry ran out to get a burger from P Terry's and Subway for me.

We put the boys to bed, but they are still awake and our neighbors are still shooting off fireworks.

Running, Swimming, Biking

This morning I went for a run with the boys in the stroller. I ran/walked about 3.5 miles.

We came home for just a little bit. I made a smoothie for all of us and then we went to the gym. I swam and then sat in the hot tub and steam room, cleaned up and then picked up the boys in the child care. Evan and Noah had a good time at the gym. They both colored pages from a coloring book. Evan was especially proud of his Scooby Doo coloring page.

After the gym we went over to the bike shop. I wanted to talk to someone about options for taking the kids with me bike riding. The guy wasn’t sure Evan was big enough for one of those kids trailer bikes (makes like a tandem bike on and adult bike). We put him on one on the lowest setting and he seemed comfortable. The guy recommended doing that and a bike trailer rather than getting seats on the back of the bike. I didn’t buy anything, we just looked around.

It was getting late and there was a McDonalds right next to the bike shop, so I picked up lunch for the boys there.

When we got home Evan and Noah finished eating and then I put Noah down for a nap. Noah wasn’t napping and was crying a lot. I’m not sure why.

Gabby came over at 3:45 and I tutored one student.

I got home around 6pm and we got dinner started. Morry and the boys had pasta. I had a sandwich and soup.

After dinner I gave Evan and Noah haircuts on the upstairs porch.

We gave them a quick bath and now they are both it bed, though both are still awake.

Going Going Going

Today was a busy day. I got a lot done.

I dropped Evan off at school and then took Noah and Lizzy for a run. I ran about 2 miles.

When we got home I started really cleaning the house. Lauren’s (my cousin) shower is this weekend at our house and we will be having a lot of people staying here.

Around lunch time I heard the garage door open. I was a little worried at first, but then Morry and Dmitriy walked in the door. Morry wanted to bring Dmitriy over to show him how to give Mottel his medicine. They only stayed a few minutes.

I cleaned more and then Noah had lunch and I made a smoothie for the 2 of us.

We went and got Evan and came back home. Evan and Noah played in the backyard while I cleaned more in the kitchen. I could see and hear them through the window.

Then, I took the boys upstairs on the patio and gave them haircuts. They insisted on taking off their shirts so they got hair all over their bodies. I gave them baths after the haircuts and then put Noah down for a nap.

I was finally able to eat lunch. Evan watched TV.

For dinner we had some leftover chicken I found in the freezer. We had couscous to go with it and I also had a salad.

We just put the boys to bed. They both seem a lot better today in terms of their colds. Noah’s nose is not as runny today and Evan was hardly coughing.

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Good Morning / Bad Afternoon

This morning Evan and Noah were very good. For lunch we met up with the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls at Central Market North. We ate lunch upstairs and Evan and Noah were very well behaved. I brought a lot of food and snacks to keep them occupied. I also bought them smoothies. There was another mom there with a 4 year-old boy, so after the lunch we went to the playground together. Evan and Noah had a great time playing. I gave them a 5 minute warning, then a 1 minute warning. I had to pick up Noah because he didn’t want to leave. Then, Evan wanted to keep showing me things he could do on the bars. I let him show me one thing, then I said we needed to leave. He became very angry and was yelling at me. I just ignored him, but he was yelling while we passed all the people eating lunch outside. Both boys were screaming and crying.

On the way home I had to stop at a vacuum repair place. Our vacuum cleaner has not been working right for a while. It vacuums some, but the brush doesn’t move like it is supposed to. The guy told me it would probably cost $69 or so to fix it. I decided to pass. We only paid about double that for the vacuum in the first place. They had some toys for kids to play with at the Sew and Vac shop. Then, Noah threw another fit when it was time to leave because he didn’t want to leave the toys.

By the time we got home both boys were seriously cranky and in need of naps, but of course neither one did today. I tried lying down with Noah, but Evan started crying because I wasn’t able to give him attention and then Noah wasn’t sleeping because he heard Evan.

Eventually I gave up on Noah’s nap and let him come downstairs. He was really cranky though.

When Morry got home we decided to go to an early dinner. The boys were in bad moods so we just picked a place close to home, Craig-Os. Evan ate a lot of pizza. Noah didn’t eat very much.

We just put the boys to bed. I really hope they fall asleep soon.

Star Peppers

This morning we went to playgroup. I enjoyed having some adult time. Evan and Noah had fun playing with new toys. Noah ate a ton of the goldfish crackers they had put out.

When we got home Evan and Noah played outside while I got lunch ready. They insisted on eating at the picnic table under their playscape. Noah didn’t eat very much, but Evan ate well. I also make smoothies for all of us.

At naptime Noah wasn’t sleeping for some reason. I was getting some stuff done downstairs and all of the sudden I heard Evan and Noah playing in the gameroom. I had to put Noah back to bed. He fought it a little, but eventually ended up napping.

When Morry got home we ordered dinner from Hula Hut through Eat Out In. While we were waiting for the food to be delivered we took the boys out front. Evan rode his bike twice around the block and rode his scooter a little too. Noah rode his tricycle just a little bit. He doesn’t like to put his feet on the pedals and it makes it very hard to push him.

Dinner was good. We made sports mac and cheese for the boys and I cut up a bell pepper for them. I thought I’d try using a cookie cutter on the bell pepper and worked. So the boys had star peppers.

We gave the boys baths and just put them to bed.

Getting into Shape

We actually made it to the gym today. We got to 24 Hour Fitness around 10:30am to sign up for free 2 week pass. We dropped Evan and Noah off at the childcare. I took a Latin dance aerobics class and Morry lifted some weights and ran on the treadmill. I did ok in the class. I had to stop a few times to take a water break, but I made it through the whole class.

After the gym we got smoothies at Smoothie King then stopped by the movie theater to get our movie tickets for tonight.

When we got home we ate lunch and then put Noah down for a nap.

Morry took Evan to a birthday party of one of his classmates. It was at Locomotion (an indoor jumpy place). Morry said Evan had a great time and was running around with friends the whole time.

For dinner Morry made pizza and then Gabby came over to babysit. Morry and I went to see the movie Valentines Day. The theater was packed, but luckily we found 2 seats together. I enjoyed the movie. It was better than I thought it was going to be.

When we came home Gabby had put both boys to bed, but they were still awake. It seems to be quiet upstairs now.