Yes! It's our first free weekend.

Today Evan chose to walk to school with Morry.  Morry said Evan was in a good mood.

When I went to go for my run Noah said he wanted to come with me.  So, I pushed him in the stroller and did a shorter run.  I'm glad he wanted to come with me. Normally, he wants to stay at home.

I dropped him off at school and he seemed happy to be there.

I got stuff done around the house and then picked Noah up.  He had a good day at school.

A little while later Noah and I walked to get Evan from school.  Both boys were excited to see each other and had fun walking home together.  They would race up ahead and wait for me at each street crossing.

I made shaved ice for them at home for a snack.  It's been pretty hot here.  I was in the 80s today.

We ate flank steak at home for dinner and then went to HEB afterwards.

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

This weekend is our first free weekend in a while.  We don't really have anything planned.  I'm tutoring one kid tomorrow and Morry has work to do, but we don't have a lot of games or practices to go to.

Noah Doesn’t want the Gym

This morning I dropped off Evan and school and then planned on going to the gym. I told Noah where we were going and he started throwing a fit. He did not want to go to the gym. I did not feel like fighting. You have to pick your battles, so I decided I would just exercise at home.

When we got home I had to first fill up the tires in the jogging stroller. Then, I got Lizzy and went for a run. When I first started I had a tough time, but I made myself keep going and ran for 2 miles.

Noah and I hung out at home for a little bit and then I brought him to Alena’s house for a couple of hours.

Later, I picked up Evan at school and then we went to Alena’s to get Noah. We hung out at Alena’s house and then came home for naps.

Noah fought napping again, but once I laid down with him for a little bit he finally fell asleep.

When Morry got home we woke Noah up so he would be able to sleep tonight.

For dinner we grilled chicken and corn on the cob.

After dinner Morry called DirecTV to yell at them. We still don’t have what they promised. We thought we’d have the whole home hooked up together, but in fact only our HD tvs are hooked to one another. Morry spent a long time on the phone. The guy was very rude, and nothing was accomplished. Ugh.

We gave the boys baths and now they are in bed.

1 ½ Hour Tantrum

This morning Evan slept until about 7:45am – later than usual. Once Noah got up we went downstairs and I got our dinner started in the crock pot. Noah was being very needy and it took a long time for me to get it done. Normally the stew is very quick. I just brown the meat, add seasoning, and add frozen vegetables to the crock pot.

I told Morry I probably wouldn’t go anywhere this morning. It has been really hard lately when I take the boys on outings. Evan normally gives me a hard time.

Evan and Noah were very well behaved at home this morning and I wanted to get out of the house. I decided to take the boys and Lizzy for a walk around Town Lake. Usually Evan, Noah, and LIzzy enjoy going out there.

I packed some food and drinks for Evan and Noah and we all got in the car and drove to the lake.

When I was getting Noah into the stroller Evan somehow fell in the grass next to the trail and scraped his wrist. It was a little scrape but he insisted he needed a Band-Aid. I got back in the car and gave Evan a Band-Aid from the diaper bag. He seemed better after that.

Evan ran/walked for a little while alongside the stroller. Once we got to the railroad tracks (from the Zilker Park train) Evan got in the stroller. Just a few seconds later Evan tells me his band-Aid came off and he needed another one. I didn’t have any with us and that’s when the tantrum started. He was screaming about how much it hurt and that he needed a Band-Aid. I wanted to continue with the walk. I tried to go a little further, but finally I couldn’t take it anymore. He wasn’t calming down no matter how much I tried to reason with him. I couldn’t wait to just get back to the car and get another Band-Aid on him.

When we got to the car, I opened a Band-Aid and when I went to put it on him, he screamed even more. He didn’t want that Band-Aid, he wanted one at home. This one was plain, the ones at home have characters on them. So, the tantrum continued all the way home.

When we got home I opened up a Toy Story Band-Aid. Now, Evan told me he wanted a Cars Band-Aid instead. I had already opened the toy story one and told him he could tell me when he was ready for me to put the Toy Story one on. He said he didn’t like Toy Story anymore (not true). He was throwing such a fit and hitting and kicking things I put him in time out in his room. Eventually he calmed down and let me put the Toy Story Band-Aid on him. This whole tantrum lasted about 1 ½ hours. I was absolutely exhausted.

Evan said he wanted to take a nap. He actually fell asleep in his bed – top bunk because I didn’t feel like arguing with him anymore. I was able to nap for a little bit before Blanca got here and I left for tutoring.

When I came home we got dinner ready. Noah really liked the meat from the stew. Evan wouldn’t try it.

We gave the boys showers and put them to bed. Evan is still up, fighting sleep, sitting on the stairs. He’s happy and not throwing a fit, but he needs to go to bed. This is what tends to happen on days he naps.

Well, tomorrow I have to take Evan to school. I’m really hoping it won’t be as hard as last time.

Long Walk

This morning I dropped off Evan at school and then Noah at Alena’s house. I spent a lot of the morning doing stuff around the house. I did laundry and rearranged Noah’s room. I moved the bed to the middle of the room and finally put a matching bed skirt on his bed.

I decided to walk to pick up the boys today. I pushed an empty stroller on the way there. That was kind of weird. I got Evan first and then Noah. It was a lot of walking. I probably walked about 5 miles.

When we got home we came upstairs for naps. Evan seemed very confused by Noah’s room. He kept asking why it was different. Noah seemed to like it and was very excited. I put some car and truck stickers on his wall that he loved.

Evan and Noah took good naps. I was able to take a nap too.

Gabby came at 4:00 and I left to tutor one student.

For dinner I made potatoes and onions. Morry had chicken wings and I had salmon to go with the potatoes. Morry made pasta for the boys.

After dinner, I worked on reading with Evan. We have some flashcards with the words on one side and pictures on the other. Evan was doing very well reading words. I would go through some and ask him what the word said. Then, we laid them down on the table and asked him to find certain words. We’ll have to take video of him doing that.

We just put the boys to bed, but both of them are still awake.

Walk, HEB, Doctor

This morning Noah didn’t want to get out of bed. Each time I tried to get him dressed he got upset. So, I left him in his crib for a while and he was happy. Finally, I decided it was time to fight him and get him dressed. I wanted to go for a walk. I had everything packed in the stroller. As soon as Evan, Noah, Lizzy, and I stepped out of the garage it started raining. It wasn’t raining hard so I went ahead and walked around the block. Evan walked some of the way and sat In the stroller the rest of the way.

After the walk, I let Lizzy inside the house and then we went to HEB. Evan and Noah were very good at HEB. I had a lot of shopping to do. I saved $38 in coupons, though I did spend a lot too.

When we got home the boys at a little and then went down for naps.

Blanca came at 3:00 so that I could go to the gastroenterologist. I wanted to get checked out since I have been nauseas for a few weeks now. She wants to do a scan to check out my gall bladder. I’m not sure when that will be. I have to make the appointment. She said it could just be stress or a virus causing the discomfort, but wants to check it out anyway.

After the doctor I tutored 2 students.

When I got home Morry was getting dinner ready. We had chicken wings, veggies, and soup (for me).

We just gave Evan and Noah baths and now they are in bed.

Shmevan

Well, today Shmevan, Evan’s evil twin, came to visit. He arrived uninvited and stayed until the evening.

Today was a tough day. Evan was really bad. I think he’s just overtired. This morning he kept hitting Noah. Evan spit juice all over the carpet. He wouldn’t stay in time out. We had plans to meet Yenis and Kevin at the mall, but if we hadn’t been meeting someone I wouldn’t have left the house with him like that. Evan was ok at the mall at first, but as soon as Kevin arrived, he was horrible. He was running around like a wild animal and wasn’t listening to me. I had to put Evan in time out in the stroller at one point. Evan threw a fit on the way out. He wanted Chick-Fil-A and a cookie, but I told him he did not behave well and couldn’t have it. I had to strap Evan down to the stroller to get him out of the mall. He was screaming. Noah was screaming. On the way out Evan kicked his shoes off. Not fun.

At home, Evan was not much fun either. Finally, he ate some lunch. He was bad again so this time I went upstairs and took his pacifier away.

I put the boys down for naps around 1pm. Noah slept. Evan screamed and cried until Blanca got here at 2:15. Evan wouldn’t even let Blanca in his room. He closed the gate on her. That’s unusual for him. Evan said wanted me and didn’t want Blanca. I wasn’t sure what was going on, so I took his temperature. It was just barely high at 99 something. I thought about staying home, but Evan seemed to calm down a little and I left.

I tutored and went to the bookstore.

I got home around 6:00.

We had corned beef and potatoes for dinner.

After dinner Morry and Evan ran out to HEB to pick up Mottel’s medicine.

We put the boys to bed around 8:00

I just gave Lizzy a haircut on the upstairs porch.

Hopefully, Shmevan does not return tomorrow.

Noah Walks For Real

This morning I planned on walking Evan to school. Everything was loaded in the stroller (stuff for school, breakfast, drinks). Evan fought getting dressed which made us run late. Then, when it was time to go, Lizzy wouldn’t come inside. She kept barking, but I didn’t see anything. Finally, I realized the old guy in the walker was coming. She hates the dogs he walks for some reason. I was yelling at her, throwing baas, nothing worked. I couldn’t catch her to come inside. I took probably 10 minutes for the guy to finally pass our house. So, now I was running even later. I decided to go ahead and walk Evan to school anyway. I wanted the exercise and everything was already in the stroller.

We got to school pretty late.

I walked Noah home. We didn’t do much today. I just cleaned the house while Noah played. I made a smoothie for us at lunch and put some in a cup for Evan for later.

We drove to pick up Evan. When we got in the car I gave Evan his smoothie. He finished it by the time we got home (5 minute drive).

Evan and Noah took good naps.

Blanca came at 4:00. I tutored and got home at 6:30. We made flank steak marinated in Soy Vey and had potatoes and carrots for sides.

After dinner I made instant Jello pudding. We let Evan have a little.

We came upstairs to get ready for bed and all the sudden Noah started really walking. We were in Evan’s room and Noah just started walking across the room. I grabbed the camera and we got some video of Noah walking in the hallway. Evan kept disrupting, but you can still see Noah walk some.

What’s really funny is that this is the exact date two years ago when Evan started walking.

The boys are in bed now. Let’s hope for a good night.







Here's Evan walking for the first time, 2 years ago today.

UT and Green Eggs and Ham

This morning we had an appointment at the University of Texas Children’s Research Lab. They called to see if I could bring in Evan for a study. They said the study involved showing a kid toys, taking them apart, and having them put it back to together. So, I said we could come in at 11am today.

It was pouring down rain on the way there.

When we got there Evan was very quiet. Noah and I were able to watch him from another room. I could see, but not hear anything. The girl said he did well and did what he was asked. She told me he said something about a Cars birthday and she asked me if he was talking about the Cars movie. After the study they brought a box over to Evan with toys and let him pick one. Evan picked the sidewalk chalk. As we were leaving, classes must have just gotten out and there were a ton of students everywhere. There were people on bikes, people walking. Evan was very curious about where they were going.

On the way home we stopped at Target to return a couple of things. Evan was upset that we didn’t go to the toy section and threw a little fit in the parking lot. It had just started raining hard again and we got wet while he was throwing a fit and I was trying to get him in the car.

Driving home I asked Evan what he wanted for lunch. I listed a few things and the last one was eggs. He said he wanted green eggs and ham. So, when we got home we actually made green egg and turkey. I didn’t have ham. He helped me mix the eggs and add a drop of green coloring.

Noah went down for a nap around 2:00. Evan wasn’t tired so let him play Geo Trax for a little bit upstairs and then he took a nap around 3:00.

Blanca came at 4:00. Noah was just waking up at that time. She said Evan got up around 5:00.

I tutored and got home at 6:00.

We had steak (Morry) and shrimp (me) and rice for dinner. Evan ate more of his green eggs and ham for dinner. He really didn’t each much of it at lunch. He did finish them all at dinner though. Both Evan and Noah ate a lot of fruit. Our boys love strawberries especially.

We took a walk after dinner. We went around the block. Evan rode his little bike the whole way while we walked with Noah in the stroller.

We just put the boys to bed. Evan is still crying. He started fighting bed time a few nights ago. Hopefully he calms down soon and gets some sleep.

The Mall

We walked to school today. Well, I walked pushing the stroller most the way. Evan walked just a little when we were almost there. There’s a little field we cut through by the pool to get to school. Evan asked to walk at that point.

After dropping Evan off, Noah and I met Alissa at the mall. For some reason Noah was really cranky. He cried a lot. I’m thinking maybe he was just really tired. He would calm down as soon as I held him. I tried to get in and out as fast as I could. I picked up a few clothes for Evan and Noah at Old Navy, The Children’s Place, and Gymboree. I had something to return at Gap. It was a gift someone gave Noah that wasn’t the right size. I didn’t feel like trying to shop around Gap at that point, so I just got the merchandise credit and will go another time to pick something out for him. I also had to stop at the Mac store. It is Blanca’s birthday today, so I picked up an itunes gift card for her.

We got home in time for me to feed Noah lunch and then leave to pick up Evan.

After I picked Evan up at school we went to the bank. I had some checks to deposit. They changed the way the ATM works. You used to be able to be able to deposit all the checks at once in one envelope. Now, they have you insert them one at a time. It reads the amount on the check and you have to verify after inserting each one. It takes a really long time. I had maybe 10 checks to deposit. It took forever and Noah was screaming in the car the whole time. Sometimes, it makes more sense for me to just get the boys out of the car, go in the bank, and have the teller deposit them. I just didn’t feel like getting the boys out of the car since I just put them in at Evan’s school. Oh, and if we go in the bank Evan has to have a lollipop. I didn’t feel like doing all that, but it probably would have been faster.

For some reason Evan didn’t want to nap. Noah went down easily. Once Evan finally fell asleep, Noah woke up. He didn’t sleep that long. Evan actually ended up sleeping a while. Blanca came over at 5:00 and Evan was still sleeping when Morry got home at 5:30.

I tutored two students and got home about 8:00.

We took a short walk around the neighborhood and Evan walked most of the way.

The boys are in bed now and I’m finally going to eat some dinner.

Evan Evan Bo Bevin

Today I walked Evan to school. I brought breakfast for Evan to eat in the stroller and brought Kix and a bottle for Noah. I gave Noah his cereal first and when he was done I handed him his bottle. Even though I think he is able, Noah does not feed himself bottles. I propped up the bottle with my sweatshirt and then he drank most of the bottle. That was the first time he fed himself a bottle.

After I dropped Evan off Yenis and I talked a while outside the school.

Noah and I walked home and then I just did some laundry and cleaning.

When we picked Evan up Wendy said they sang the Name Game today. She said the kids had a great time hearing their name sung in the song.

At home Evan and Noah took good naps.

When Morry got home we went outside in the backyard for a little while. While Evan was swinging on the glider I heard him singing the Name Game song with his name, Noah’s name, and Papa’s name. He didn’t quite have it down, but I knew what he was singing. It was cute.

For dinner, Morry made cornflake chicken and biscuits.

We are about to take a walk and then put the boys to bed.

Tonight I’m going out with Alissa. I’m not sure what we’ll do yet. Maybe coffee or a movie?