Everybody Loves Lizzy, Part 2

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was very overcast on our walk to school this morning, though it was still warm.

I stayed home all day.  I didn't have a meeting or go into Aaron's.

For lunch, Rachel and I went to Wholy Bagel.  We didn't get to go last Friday.  It was good to get back there.

We went to pick up Noah from school.  Evan went over Wade's house.  Wade's mom dropped Evan off at home around 5:30.

We had pasta for dinner.  Then we went to the Food Trailer Night for dessert.  We brought Lizzy again.  It was much more crowded this time.  The weather was cooler than a month ago.  I think that helped.  As soon as we got there, four girls surrounded Lizzy petting her.  She was very happy.  Later, we stopped for a second to decide where we were going to go.  This little girl holding a plate of pizza walked directly in front of Lizzy.  There were only inches between the girl and Lizzy's face.  The problem was that she was the right height for Lizzy's mouth.  The pizza on the plate passed just in front of Lizzy's mouth.  She opened to grab it but I noticed and I yanked her back at the last second.  Luckily the girl didn't lose her pizza to Lizzy.  We also so Yenis and Kevin.  Kevin was Evan's friend when he was 2 and 3 years old.  Evan didn't really remember Kevin but they walked around together.

We stopped at Grandma and Papa's on the way back.

The boys are getting ready for bed.

Until next time...

Taking It Easy

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

After yesterday's very long day, we decided to take it easy.  The boys let us sleep in, which was nice.  They played in the game room and their own rooms for a while before going downstairs to play Wii.

When we came downstairs, we made brunch.  Rachel made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and I made green eggs and ham for Evan and just ham for Noah.  Rachel and I had left overs.

After lunch, the boys cleaned up their rooms and the game room and they they played in the game room until it was time for a birthday party for a boy down the street, Nathan.

Nathan's party was at the Little Gym.  Noah was excited to go there.  Both boys seemed to have a good time at the party.

On the way home, we stopped and got Mr. Popper's Penguins at Redbox.

Rachel was going to the Oasis tonight to see The Brew play with Yenis.  I ordered a pizza from Austin Pizza Garden for us and we had a "buddy party".  We put on Mr. Popper's Penguins and ate at the coffee table.  The boys enjoyed the movie and Evan had more pizza than I did.  He really likes pizza from there.

I put the kids to bed at 8pm but it's 10:45 and they are still up.

Until next time...

Zayde

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

They have been predicting that a cold front would come in today.  Even last night they said that today's high was going to be 62.  When I got up I got dressed warmly to take Evan to school.  There was only one problem.  The cold front did not arrive until 5:30pm.  It was still in the 70s this morning.

I took Evan to school.  When I came back I mailed a letter at the mailbox.  As I was walking back to the house I saw Noah looking out of the gameroom window waving to me.  I got breakfast for the two of us and then I went to work.

Rachel got up and ended up going for a walk with Noah (after Noah got over throwing a fit that he didn't want to walk).

Rachel then cleaned, mopped the kitchen floor and straightened up.

We had lunch and then we left the house to go to Noah's sports class.  On the way, my cell phone rang but I didn't look at it since I was driving.  Then Blanca called Rachel's phone to tell her that the front door was open to the house and the alarm was going off.  The missed call was from the alarm company.  I quickly dropped Noah and Rachel off and got home as the police were pulling up.  Since the front door was open, they police wanted to check the house.  It was crazy - like TV.  They went in each room yelling "Austin Police" and then checked it real quick.  The only difference was their guns were not drawn.  Lizzy really liked them.  I had been concerned that Lizzy might leave the house but she hadn't.  When Rachel mopped, she went out the front door to dump the water.  Noah went with her.  We think that Noah was the last one in and he probably didn't shut the door well and definitely didn't lock it.  I guess the wind blew it open.  It must have closed enough that we could turn the alarm on.

After sports class, Rachel and Noah went and picked Evan up from school and then met Yenis and Kevin for frozen yogurt and they played at the park.

They came home and we left to pick Zayde up at the airport.  The boys were excited to see him.

We ate at Logan's for dinner and we got home late.  The boys said they were tired.

Now they are in bed and quiet.

Until next time...

School and Gardening

This morning Evan gave me a little bit of a hard time going to school, but it wasn’t as bad as last time.

After dropping Evan off at school, Noah and I met Yenis at Starbucks. At Starbucks, I ran into 3 other moms (separately) from the mom’s club. One joined us with her 3 year old daughter. We sat outside. Noah and the little girl enjoyed running around together.

After Starbucks, Noah and I went to HEB. Noah was very good there.

We came home, put away the groceries, and pretty soon after it was time to pick up Evan from school.

When we got back home Noah went down for a nap and Evan and I planted some of the plants in the backyard.

After that we went upstairs so that I could rest and Evan played in the game room.

For dinner I made a planko baked chicken, rice, and soup. The weather was beautiful, so we sat outside for dinner.

I tutored one student tonight while Morry took care of the boys.

I came home a little while ago. Both of the boys were in bed and it seems to be quiet.

Lots to Do

This morning Evan slept until 8 something and I had to wake Noah up a little before 9am. First, we dropped Evan off and school and then I took Noah to Alena’s house. I came home and started the laundry and cleaned up a little. Yenis came over at 10:45am and then we went to lunch at Freddie’s Place. After lunch we stopped by Lifetime Fitness, a fancy gym. Her husband had lost his keys there and she wanted to see if they had found them. She gave me a tour of the gym. It was really nice. The kids/babysitting area looked really fun. They had an indoor playscape like at Chick-Fil-A and a small gym for the kids to play, as well as computers and movies. We would love to join there, but it’s pretty pricy. We’ll see. If I can maybe get a couple more students for tutoring we might consider.

Then, Yenis dropped me off at home so I could get my car and then we picked up the kids. I picked up Evan first and then Noah. They both were in good moods and seemed to have a good day.

When we got home I put the boys down for naps and the folded a ton of laundry. We still hadn’t folded the laundry from last week. I also cleaned the house some more to get ready for playgroup tomorrow. We are hosting playgroup at our house tomorrow at 10am.

For dinner we made potatoes. Morry had a hamburger and I had my leftover Chuy’s. After dinner I got some stuff ready for playgroup and cleaned up a little more.

We just gave Evan and Noah baths and put them to bed. I hear Noah talking now.

Evan’s School and Coffee with Yenis

This morning Gabby came over at 7:30am. Evan got picked up for school around 9am, and a little while later Yenis picked me up to go get coffee at Starbucks. It was nice getting out of the house for a little bit.

Evan had his holiday party at school today so Morry went there to be with him. For the book exchange Evan got a Cars book. Morry said that Evan wanted Morry to do everything for him while he was at school.

Morry brought Evan home and he worked from home the rest of the day.

We put the boys down for naps. They both napped, but Noah woke up cranky and crying.

For dinner Amy and Duane brought over a fajita dinner for us.

We just gave Evan and Noah baths and got them ready for bed. While we were all in Evan’s room Noah climbed up into Evan’s bed and tucked himself in and pretended to be sleeping.

It seems quiet in Noah’s room now, but Morry is still upstairs with Evan.

Evan's First Soccer Class

Hello everyone, this is Morry. Rachel's folding laundry so I'm writing the blog tonight.

Today was Evan's first soccer class. This is Evan's birthday present from Grandmom. Everyone has been excited for it. This is the first sport that we have signed Evan up for, and we were curious to see what it was like. It's an indoor soccer facility. They had lots of drills and little games for the kids to play. At first they had a game without any soccer balls. Evan was trying to figure out why they couldn't play soccer. So he left the game, walked over and picked up a soccer ball and kicked it into the goal. He seemed happier once they started to play soccer. He had some difficulty listening to instruction but caught on. He also kept wanting to use his hands. He was more interested in scoring goals than dribbling the ball. After 45 minutes, he ran over to me and told me he was "all done." He said he had fun but i think he was frustrated not being able to use his hands. Overall, I think the class was good and Evan enjoyed it.

After soccer, we went over to Yenis and Kevin's for lunch. Rachel and Yenis made spaghetti.

When we got home, we put the boys down for naps. Evan didn't sleep as long as I thought he would have, given how hard he played today.

We decided to go to the Oasis tonight to listen to salsa music. It's the band that Rachel used to go see all the time. We stopped on the way and picked up a Happy Meal at McDonald's for Evan. We also got an extra thing of nuggets in case Noah wanted some or Evan wanted more. Noah ended up eating two nuggets.

Everyone enjoyed the Oasis. Evan danced with me for one dance and danced with Rachel later on. We watched the sunset. Noah liked listening to the music as well.

We got home very late so the boys went down without too much of a fight. It's quiet up there now.

Until next time...

House Cleaning

This morning we were woken up around 8am from our neighbor’s landscapers. They usually come really early on either Friday or Saturday morning. I was especially tired since Evan woke up in the middle of the night last night. He was crying for some reason. He calmed down pretty quickly. When I went in his room he told me he wanted water. I filled his cup with water and then he went back to sleep. Maybe he had a bad dream?

At 9:45am the housecleaning lady came. She didn’t speak any English so I had to show her around the house and explain things in Spanish. It was her first time at our house. I negotiated a price with her, but then called Yenis to translate and make sure I really understood. I had understood, but I just wanted to be sure so we didn’t have any problems at the end.

Evan, Noah, and I went to Newflower and got some fruit and veggies for the weekend. Then, we met Morry for lunch. I needed to be home by 1:15 for an online focus group. Morry was on a call when we met him at work so we were late going to lunch. We went to Chick-Fil-A (Evan’s request). I had to quickly eat lunch and rush home. Morry brought the boys home a little later so they could stay and play longer.

I got home, signed on to the computer and a few minutes later got a message saying there were too many people in the focus group. I won the lottery and was dismissed from the group, with pay. It was supposed to be an hour long chat session on drinks for $75. So, I got paid $75 for nothing. Great deal!

I took the boys in the backyard and we played for a little while. Evan watered our little garden. We noticed a little green tomato and a few jalapeno peppers finally started growing. Evan was pretty excited about the tomato. I explained that it wasn’t quite ready to eat yet and we’d have to keep watching it until it turned red.

Evan and Noah went down for naps around 2:00.

Grandma/Lynn and Papa/Lenny got here around 3:00. Since the cleaning lady was still here we just sat outside on the upstairs patio. Noah woke up at 3:30 and Evan woke up a little later.

For dinner we went to Cypress Grill. Evan and Noah were very well behaved and ate well. Evan had his own shrimp kids meal.

We just put the boys to bed, but Evan is still awake. He was just crying for Daddy, so Morry is up there trying to get Evan to sleep.

Too Much Cleaning

This morning I dropped Evan off at school and Noah, Lizzy, and I met Melissa at the lake. We walked the 3 mile loop. It was a little cool outside at first, but it warmed up and was very nice toward the end of the walk.

After the walk I went to Alamo Draft House to get a gift certificate for Alissa and then Old Navy to return some clothes.

On the way home around 12:00 I got a call saying the cleaning lady will not be able to come tomorrow. I scheduled the cleaning a few weeks ago. I purposely scheduled it for tomorrow morning to get the house cleaned before Noah’s party. The owner of the cleaning company asked if we could schedule for next week, but I said that wouldn’t work and that I needed someone to come tomorrow. He said he’d see if anyone else could come and would call me back later in the afternoon.

At home I fed Noah and ate lunch and then we picked Evan up at school.

As I was putting the boys down for naps the cleaning guy called and left a message saying he was not able to get anyone to come tomorrow.

I frantically started cleaning. The house really needed to be cleaned. As I was cleaning the upstairs bathroom, I saw Evan’s door open. I’m not sure he napped at all. I needed to keep cleaning, so I left him play in the gameroom with his GeoTrax while I cleaned. I cleaned from about 2:00-5:30 (when Morry got home) and still didn’t get everything done. I was absolutely exhausted.

I had plans to meet Alissa and some of her friends for Alissa’s birthday. We were meeting at a restaurant at 7:30.

I made myself coffee to wake me up and give me some energy and then got ready to go out.

Yenis came over at 7:00 and we went together in my car to the restaurant.

We had a nice time at dinner and then went downtown.

South by Southwest Festival is going on right now and I was sure it was going to be crowded and there wouldn’t be any parking spots. Somehow we lucked out and got a free parking spot on the street. We walked around downtown and sat at a bar for a little bit. I just got home at 12:30 and I’m absolutely exhausted.

Morry did some cleaning while I was gone. There is still cleaning to do tomorrow. Blanca is coming tomorrow at 10:00am so I can finish.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. Whew

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?

Target Valentine’s Shopping

I ran/walked Evan to school today. I jogged the way there and walked the way back. The whole time it was threatening to rain, but never really rained. It was just cloudy and humid.

Noah and I went to Target to get some Valentine’s stuff. I picked out some cards for Evan to give to his classmates on Thursday. They are having a party and Valentine’s exchange.

Once we got home, Noah went down for a morning nap.

Yenis came over for lunch and I had to wake Noah up for lunch. I didn’t want him sleeping too long. I wanted to make sure he’d still take his afternoon nap.

We picked up the boys at school. Evan didn’t want to leave. He was playing with some cars and threw a little fit when it was time to go.

At home, I had Evan help me get some of the Valentine’s cards ready. I let him draw on the to/from part, but then he starting coloring over the picture on the card. He was upset when I told him not to color on that part. He started throwing even more of a fit when I wouldn’t let him play with the stickers that came with the cards. I wanted to make sure we had enough for all the cards. Anyway, I knew it was time for a nap at that point.

Blanca came at 3:00 so I could go tutor. I got home at 8:00 and we gave Evan and Noah baths and put them to bed. Once they were in bed I could finally eat dinner. Morry had already eaten earlier with the boys.

It is quiet in both rooms now. Let’s home it stays that way.

Whew, long day

Evan and Noah woke up early this morning. They started making noise around the time Morry left for work.

I started the laundry, got the boys dressed and fed, and finished getting Evan’s school stuff together.

After dropping Evan off at school I went to HEB. I had a lot of stuff to buy and was there a while. Noah was pretty good in the shopping cart. He just got fussy at the end. At one point we passed some samples. I let Noah have a few bites of chocolate cupcake. Somehow he managed to get just those few small bites everywhere. He had chocolate on his chin, a glob of icing on his sock.

Noah fell asleep on the way home. I put him down for a nap. I quickly put the groceries away, straightened up the house downstairs, and got dinner ready. I made another crock pot dish – Crock Pot Turkey. It was really good and juicy.

Yenis came over for lunch at 12:00. By the time we ate and I fed Noah it was time to get Evan. I was sort of in a hurry because I needed to be back at home by 1:30 for tutoring. I had planned on picking Evan up right at 1:15, but got there a few minutes late. When I walked in Wendy was changing Evan’s diaper so we weren’t able to leave right away. Then, Evan wanted to take his artwork home. They had painted cutouts of cars. I asked Wendy if we could take Evan’s home. She said that was fine, since she already had one for his folder. He made about 6 of them! I guess they figured out how to get Evan to do art. When we were pulling out of the parking lot we had to wait forever to get out. It seemed like everyone was leaving at the same time.

We got home about two minutes late and I quickly cleared off the dishes on the table for tutoring. I tutored the homeschool Algebra II student from 1:30 – 3:00. He took his online final exam with me and made a 100. He didn’t end up leaving until about 3:30 since we had to wait for his mom to pick him up.

While the boys were napping I did more laundry and cleaned.

For dinner, Evan and Noah didn’t eat much. Evan had a few veggie sticks and fruit and a Popsicle. Not real healthy. I think Evan’s throat may still be bothering him. He still sounds hoarse.

The boys are playing as I’m writing the blog. In a few minutes we’ll get them ready for bed.

Starbucks and School

This morning I dropped Evan off and school and turned in his application for school for next year. Evan is going to continue going part-time on Tuesdays and Thursdays next year. They told us as long as the child stays in the same program they are guaranteed a spot for next year. Apparently, there were some parents at the school in line as early as 3:30am this morning. One of the moms from Evan’s class was one of them. She wants to change her son to M,W,F. I can’t imagine getting there that early. I hope we don’t have to do that if we ever want to change Evan’s days.

After dropping Evan off at school I met Yenis for coffee at Starbucks. We had a nice time talking, but Noah was very cranky for some reason. I think it was a combination of his runny nose and being tired. On the way home he fell asleep in the car and I was able to put him down for a nap when we got home.

I downloaded Skype on our computer, but I still haven’t tried it out. If you have Skype and would like to chat, let me know and we can try it out. We have a video camera on our computer so you would be able to see the boys.

When I picked Evan up at school he didn’t want to leave. He got really upset when we were leaving. He was trying to tell me he wanted something, but I didn’t understand what he was talking about. Somehow the teacher understood and we realized he wanted to take home the art he made today. Evan told me he used the fire truck to paint. I guess they dipped the wheels of cars in paint and rolled them on the papers. All of the papers were hanging up to dry so we took Evan’s down and he asked if we could hang it up at home. When Kevin saw Evan with his art, Kevin wanted to take his paper home as well. We put Evan’s art up on the fridge when we got home.

Blanca came at 3:00 and I went to tutor. I got home around 7:30 and ate leftover Salt Lick bbq from Sunday for dinner.

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

Freezing

So, this morning it was in the 60s when I dropped of Evan, and when I went to pick him up from school a few hours later it was already in the 40s. Now, at almost 9pm it’s 32 degrees outside.

Yenis told me when she brought Kevin in the classroom this morning Evan ran up to them and said he was a firefighter. He had a hat on and was pretending to be a firefighter. When I picked Evan up he was a doctor. He came up to me with a thermometer and wanted to check my ear.

While Evan was at school Noah took a short morning nap and cleaned upstairs. We ate lunch and that was pretty much the end of the morning. Then, it was time to pick up Evan.

Blanca came at 3:00. I was supposed to tutor until 7:30 tonight, but ended up just going until 6:30. One of my students didn’t have homework and therefore, didn’t need my help. That was good since I was worried about driving home in bad weather. I wanted to get home before it got below freezing.

For dinner we had pasta and green beans. Evan didn’t eat much for dinner. All he ate was 2 cups of applesauce. Noah ate well though. He had cereal mixed with applesauce, baby food veggies, regular veggies, hot dog, a little bit of pasta, and cheese.

They are saying we may get some sleet and ice tonight. We’ll see what happens.

Relaxing Thursday

This morning Evan didn’t give me any problems going to school. He was very good. He insisted on wearing his Steelers Jersey today, so I let him put it on over his long sleeved shirt. When he walked into school Ms. Natasha was very excited. She is also a Steelers fan and asked Evan for a high-five.

At 11:00, Alissa, Noah and I went over to Yenis’ house. She invited us over to hangout and have lunch. We had a nice relaxing time. We stayed there until it was time to pick up the boys at school.

When we got home Evan and Noah played while I vacuumed and mopped downstairs.

Evan and Noah went down for naps around 2:30. Blanca came 4:00 so I could tutor. I came home at 6:00 and we had a crock pot dinner. I made Drunken Garlic Crock Pot Roast and we had bread and roasted garlic with it. For Evan, we made dinosaur chicken fingers. When we put them down on his plate he threw a fit and said he didn’t want them, but by a few minutes later he had eaten them all. He also had some bread. I cut up fruit and both Evan and Noah and they ate a ton. It seems like Noah is like Evan and really likes fruit.

We gave them baths and put them to bed a little early tonight. Both Evan and Noah seemed tired, though they are still making noises in their rooms.

Cancelled appointments

I was supposed to tutor a student from 12-1 at his school. I got to the school, paid the meter, and went inside. Inside, I was getting my cell phone to call the student and tell him I was there when I saw I had a voicemail. His mom left a message canceling earlier this morning. Apparently she had tried emailing me, but emailed the wrong person or something. So, I turned around and went home. Blanca was babysitting and I was gone about an hour for nothing.

Also, I thought I had an appointment for a check up with the ENT doctor today. On the card that they gave me they wrote down the appointment as Jan. 14. I thought it was weird that I didn’t get a confirmation call, so I called this morning just to confirm. They said they had me down for Jan. 16 and they apologized for the mistake. So, now I have to go on Friday instead. At least I called first.

After eating lunch I took Evan and Noah outside so that Evan could ride his bike. He did really well. He rode his bike the whole way around the block. I thought we’d just go down the street so I was holding Noah in my arms and didn’t have stroller. My arms were really tired by the end of the walk.

Tonight I’m going out with Alissa and Yenis to Ruta Maya. That’s the coffee shop that Alissa and I went to last week.

Gra’noah’bar

Last night I went out with the girls (Yenis and Alissa). We had a nice time, but it was pretty empty downtown. Maybe because people were up late the night before watching election stuff, they didn’t feel like going out?

This morning I drove Evan to school so I didn’t have to rush around trying to get out in time to walk. While Evan was at school Noah and I just hung out at the house. I did laundry and just got little things taken care of. Noah started acting real cranky around 10:30, so I put him down for a nap and he slept for about an hour.

At lunch I gave Noah a straw sippy cup with some juice in it. He did pretty well holding the cup on his own and getting the straw to his mouth.

We drove to pick Evan up and Wendy told me again how much Evan doesn’t like art. They had some project with cut up bell peppers and paint. I think they were using pepper halves as stamps. Anyway, Evan wanted nothing to do with it.

Blanca came at 4 and I tutored 2 students.

It was almost 7 when I got home. As we were getting dinner ready Evan came up with a new nickname for Noah. He started calling him “granoahbar”. Evan made that up all on his own. Morry and I were pretty impressed.

Evan and Noah are in bed now and it seems quiet up there.

Flu Shots for Evan and Noah

I took Evan and Noah to their doctor today for flu shots. Noah needed the booster shot. For babies they have to give them 2 separate shots a month apart. I warned Evan ahead of time what was going to happen and that it would just hurt for a minute. Right as we walked into the waiting room this little girl yells to Evan, “They give shots here!” I guess she was trying to warn him. The parents seemed embarrassed, but I said it was ok and I already talked to Evan about the shot. I decided to have Evan go first. He did very well. He just whined a little, but was easily calmed down when the nurse offered him a sticker. Noah did well too and only cried for a few seconds.

After the shots, we went to Target to return something. We walked around the store. Evan loves walking in Target. I ended buying Evan some Spiderman tennis shoes. He really needed another pair of shoes. He only had one pair that fit him. They had light up Spiderman shoes that just happened to fit him.

After Target we came home and ate lunch. While I was getting lunch ready I put Noah on the floor and he actually crawled a little. It was more like an army crawl, but he was actually moving forward. We put up a video on YouTube. It should show up at the bottom of this page. We also added a video from Halloween of Evan looking at the candy in the candy bowl.

Blanca came at 1:45. I signed up for a focus group study about cleaning supplies from 2-4 today. I met 2 interviewers at HEB to talk about what products I used and how I clean the house. We talked for a little bit then we went down the cleaning aisle and picked a few items for me to try at home. We went back to our house. I showed them what cleaning products I typically use and did a few cleaning demonstrations of how I use them. I got paid $200 for those 2 hours. Good deal, huh?

Tonight I’m going out for a girl’s night. Alissa, Yenis, and I are going to Speakeasy (a bar downtown). It has been a very long time since I’ve had a girl’s night out. I’m looking forward to it. The Brew (salsa band) will be playing.