BACK TO SCHOOL

We did it!  We survived the baby, toddler and preschool years.  It is now a whole new world with two school age kids!  Both boys had a great first day of school.  There were no tears from anyone.  Well, not until Lance figured out that he left his SpongeBob lunchbox at school and his “I was good in school” sticker fell off when we were walking home.

After a million tries this was the best one I got.  Lance was talking and Garrett is too cool to smile:

Handsome young man:

The very tall 2nd grader:

I find it hard to believe his is 5 and no longer needs me all day:

Cuteness:

Another try at getting a decent photo.  I need to work on taking pictures with glasses and figure out how to get him to stop talking:

Daddy helping with the backpacks:

Ignoring Mommy and drawing a picture:

This one wants to know when he gets homework:

Because you can always use a little Katie in your life:

I can sense the crash about to happen.  It has been a long day for everyone!  Time to brush teeth, read a story and go to bed.  It is nice to be back in a routine.

we’ve been busy

That is my excuse and I am sticking to it.  Here is some proof.

Many, many trips to the beach.  We still make to make a couple more trips before it is time to put the boogie boards away.

A wonderful weekend in Matagorda with the Bonnot side.

A visit to Space Center.

Intense games of Go Fish.

Cooling off in the pool.

Protecting Mommy from Battle Droids.

Goofing off in the pool.

Slip N Slide fun at the grandparent’s.

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We really have had a lot of fun this summer!  Other highlights are:

-fireworks

-playing in the rain

- a day at Splashway

- fun times with out of state cousins

- Chuck E Cheese

- Camp Sugie and PawPaw

- $1 movies

- Wii on Sunday afternoons

With just a couple weeks of summer left we are trying to fit in a few more memories!  We plan on visiting Daddy’s finished school, going to the beach again and a playdate with Aunt Missy.  There is also a back to school shopping trip planned but I don’t think the boys consider that fun.

I am still taking a photo a day!  I might have missed a day or two but have since taken a photo to represent what happened that day.  Now I just need to time to edit and post them!  That is all I have for now.  I am sure you will see another post when the boys go back to school.  I find it hard to believe they will both be in school all day long!  And I now have an answer to the question of “what will you do all day?” #1) I plan on cleaning the house.  It needs a deep clean! #2) I got a job!  I now work from home part time doing some graphic design, web design and website updates.  #3) Creating digital scrapbook designs.  So yeah, I will be busy!

swag

I search the internet a lot.  This morning I searched for a Chipmunks video for Lance and earned money while doing it.

I started using Swagbucks to do my internet searches.  Swagbucks is a search engine that pays you digital dollars when you search, enter codes, participate in polls, complete special offers and other ways of winning.  It does not take any extra effort for me to do these things.  Most of the time my search entered on the site is Google.  Yes, I search for another search engine.   You don’t win on every search but will win every day.  The most I have received at one time was 33 swagbucks.  The average is about 7.  There are some days where I only win once and other days where I have won multiple times.

I also have the toolbar (1 point a day), their blog on my Google Reader, am a fan of their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter.  These are other ways to catch a random code to enter for more swagbucks.

Once you have accumulated enough swagbucks you are able to purchase items in their store.  I am saving mine for a $25 Disney gift card to use when we go to Disney World.  My plan is to earn enough for two cards that I will give to the boys for their souvenir money.

I started in March and am halfway there to redeem my first $25 Disney card.

Here is my referral link if you would like to start using Swagbucks:  http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/aggiefamily

Every time you win during a search, I will also win!

family movie

I posted this on Facebook but thought I would add it here as well.

The Empire Strikes Back featuring The Heimann Family

The stars:

I always wanted to be Princess Leia.

layout update

Slowly catching up!  Here is from where I left off to end of March.

day 82-90

Just playing catch up!

I asked for a nice smile.  This is what I got.  He will outgrow this soon, right?

Lance and his dragon.  It kept him entertained during Garrett’s practice.

Lance will not eat the peel of a sliced apple.  He will eat an entire whole apple- peel and core.

Katie kissed/licked Katie so Lance kissed her back.  He was then told to brush his teeth.

Opening day at Katy National Little League!

The boys washed all the oak pollen off my Traverse.

Garrett had the chance to play pitcher for an inning during this evening game.

Lance received the game ball for getting the runner out on first base.

I am not sure what had more dye on it- the egg or the fingers?

the fishy show

Lance likes to talk.  He talks (asks questions) to me, he talks to Katie, he talks to his toys.  He can not be quiet.  Most of the time it is just babbling in the background to me.  The boy has been talking nonstop for 4.25 years now.  He even talks in his sleep.

Today was no exception.  We were in Walmart and he was talking and pretending to be Katie.  Nothing unusual about that.  As we were leaving he asked for the receipt.  You see Billy and I have noticed that they always ask for the receipt.  We thought they wanted to know how many items we bought.  They will argue over who gets the receipt.  As I handed it to Lance today, I asked him why he wanted it.  He told me that the number on the bottom told him how many animals would be in The Fishy Show.

What?

I proceeded to ask him about The Fishy Show.  Here is the synopsis:

• The Fishy Show is a show that happens in their bedroom at night when they should be going to bed
• Most of the time Garrett is the camera man and Lance directs the animals
• Last week they has 111 animals in the show because The Fishy Show receipt had 111 groceries on it
• Schnauzie (stuffed dog) sings the Zero Gravity song.  It goes like this- 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
• There is a theme song
• Baby Bunny is fired from the fishy show for saying fart
• Dinosaur is fired for 10 years for showing his butt
• Sometimes iCarly comes by but only on Halloween
• There is zero gravity on The Fishy Show and that is why the animals fly across the room

I asked Lance why he had The Fishy Show.  He thought a minute and then told me “because my brain plays at night and I can’t make it go to sleep.”  Then he said “why are you asking me this?” and the conversation was over.

why i don’t blog

You see I have two boys. They are good boys. They are different. One is a reader. He reads everything and anything. He is a little on the lazy side but we are working on that. The other is eclectic. I have no other word for him than eclectic. I could say strange but he is too cute for strange.

This is what Billy and I were greeted with when we went to check on them before we went to bed:

Wait. There is more. At first we thought he was just sleeping on the floor again because his bed is not “comforterable.” I also thought that maybe he wet the bed again and moved to the dry floor.  But then B directed me to look at the bed.

I still do not know the reason for hanging the animals from the top bunk. I am hoping it was so they could all sleep with him and not part of some ritual. I do not know why he has a bank, snow globe and trophy on the bed.  I do know that there is bound to be a really good story about it.

So my life is filled with two boys.  Their homework, messes, baseball, meals, school, laundry, cleaning, playing, appointments, fighting and reading.

This is why I don’t blog.

I wouldn’t change it for the world.

(Lance does not sleep on the plastic bed cover.  I usually have a soft mattress cover over it but it was in the wash.  He stared out the night with the red blanket over the bed and the stripe blanket as his cover.  I no longer make his bed and don’t think I will until he is 14.)

more…

So have I mentioned that baseball is now my life? This week hasn’t been too bad but starting Saturday it will get even crazier. Two games a week for each boy means sometimes we will be at the ballpark 3 nights a week and Saturdays. Both boys are doing good. Lance is usually playing 1st or 3rd base. I am not sure where Garrett will play. He is a much better at the bat than in the field. They are really excited for opening ceremonies this weekend because the concession stand opens.

Garrett’s homework: sight words, spelling words, math worksheet and reading.

Gorgeous sunset on the way to practice.

The usual contents of my bag for baseball practice.

An intense game of Connect 4×4.

My favorite Reckless Kelly song.

A beautiful, sunny and warm day. Perfect for drying blankets on the line.

Even the stuffed schnauzer got a bath.

Billy and his walking stick. Our neighbor’s dad made it for him.

My new running shoes! I started the Couch 2 5K program.

Our camping plans were postponed when Lance woke up with the stomach virus.

He also ran a fever and fell asleep on the couch in the afternoon.

Rainy weekends mean we take down some toys out of the closet.

This time it was Shake N Go and Katie loved it!

My view from the couch. I was the next victim of the stomach virus.

Lance playing 1st base in his scrimmage.

Time to pick up the boys from school! Have a great day!

my favorite links

This is a cross post from my AH Designs team blog.

Good morning! I have a million and one things to do today but instead I am sitting here checking out all my favorite spots. I thought I would share some of those with you. Some you probably know about and already read, shop or play there. Some might expose some of my quirkiness (that sounds so much better than weirdness). Hopefully some of the links are useful to you!

The Daily Digi

Love this site! Great information (check out the new post on printing) and inspiration. They also offer a grab bag of sorts every month that is filled with goodies from the best designers in the industry.

The Nesting Place

Gorgeous home decorating on a budget. Right up my alley. I plan on mistreating my kitchen windows soon.

Crazy 8

I admit to spending way too much money here. But the quality of the clothes is great! The jeans are the only ones that my boys don’t destroy. Get on their mailing list! They send coupons frequently.

SuzyQ Scraps

Not only can you take a look at Suzy’s adorable scrap kits, her blog also offers great tutorials and information.

Swag Bucks

Search the internet and earn gift cards! Here is my referral link if you want to join: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/aggiefamily

Heather Ann Melzer

Heather’s mind works a lot like mine. So many (cute!) ideas and so little time. But unlike me, she completes her projects! Her home is gorgeous, kids are adorable and designs are beautiful.

Skip To My Lou

My kids like this site also! You can find fun for the whole family on this site. Making the slime is on my list of activities for this summer.

Simple Scrapper

Information, freebies, inspiration- all you need in one spot!

Bakerella

I love to bake and hate to cook. This blog has gorgeous photos and fun ideas.

Young House Love

Another design/decorating blog. Great ideas for decorating and remodeling a home! I love how the use what they have before considering buying something new.

Misty Cato

Gorgeous designs, great tutorials and such a sweet girl.

Bake It Pretty

Fun little blog! This is where I get most of my baking supplies.

What The Duck

I love What The Duck. I look forward to it every morning. This is my favorite:

and this one:

Oh there are more but I think it is time that I get up and tackle that laundry pile.

If there is a site that you love please leave a link in the comments!

Have a great day!- Amanda