We have BIG news!

We have a new puppy. It is our first dog or real pet for that matter. You saw what we did with fish so we thought we'd move onto a dog..haha. It is very exciting to us and a big change. Due to Con's allergies and the commitment factor of having a dog we have put it off for a long time. Now that the boys are 8 & 11 we thought we better just go for it.

So let me introduce you to the new Campbell family member.

Her name Skylar. Connor picked her name because in her description it said she was white and sky blue (even though she's actually white and gray) Connor thought of Skylar because of it. He instantly gravitated to her. Alex loves her too. They are both so happy.

This picture was taken shortly after we arrived home with her on Sunday.

From Skylar

Connor bonding with Skylar.

From Skylar

She is an Italian Greyhound which is like a miniature Greyhound.

From Skylar

She is very playful with Alex. I think she senses his playfulness. She is
like the little sister they never had and now I'm not the only girl in the house!

From Skylar

She is very sweet and as much as Mark and I have really never been dog people we have already fallen in love with her after only 2 days. She loves to follow us around and we keep tripping over her :0 If I sit down, which of course I rarely do because of all the housecleaning..etc. I'm doing.. not, she loves to lay on my feet (especially at the computer). She just curls up and goes to sleep. Oh no, I already sound like one of those sappy pet owners!!!

Perfect Moment Monday

I CapturePerfect Moments.

Click on the above button to see more perfect moments over at Lori's Weebles Wobblog.

I owe thank you's to so many of you who have helped me this week. I hesitate to name names because I may leave someone out. Oh well.. here goes. Thank you Julie for bringing dinner on Monday. I'm sure it was delicious and the boys really enjoyed it! They actually had the leftovers a couple of times so it covered more than one meal! Thank you Helen for adopting Alex for the week. He has spent so much time at your house I've almost forgotten what he looks like.. almost. Also thank you for taking the boys to the movie. It helped us regroup and poor Mark to have a little break. Thank you Jennifer for the beautiful fresh flowers... and one of my perfect moments of the week was THIS showing up at my front door!!!







THANK YOU TERRA!

What a sight for a sore... abdomen. It was delivered on Friday. I opened the door and there was the delivery man and 3 kids peeking behind him. They had been sledding in the front yard when he arrived and they were very curious.. also wanted to sample it of course. It really hit the spot. I haven't been able to eat much so this was just the ticket.. fresh fruit! It was such a pretty arrangement.. so colorful and fresh. We are still enjoying it. You can't really see it in the picture but there were chocolate covered pineapple bunnies!

Also thank you to everyone for all the phone calls and emails checking in. It really means a lot. I'm doing pretty well. I get tired really easy and still haven't figured out what I can eat.. but all in all doing good.

Let it snow... let it snow.... let it snow???

For those of you who don't know, we got a big snow on Thursday and into Friday. They actually called for school closures before the snow even began. They knew it was going to be a big one. The boys were thrilled to wake up on Friday and find they had another snow day! Only in Colorado do you get snow days when a lot of the country is out for Spring break. Although by Colorado standards it wasn't huge. Altogether we probably got 12-14 inches at our house. Mark and the boys spent the entire first day out shoveling snow onto our front yard snow hill. Mark was glad he had hung on to the Hay bales we normally use for Halloween (for our pumpkins) and then when the first snow arrives he starts stacking the snow on them and creates a hill. "We" try to keep the hill going all winter by stacking snow onto the hill everytime it snows. This winter we didn't have a lot so didn't have the hill for very long.. glad we got a second chance... (I say we.. the most I did was walk out a few times and take pictures) I did wish I could get in on the action a little more, but due to my recent surgery I had to sit inside with a hot cup of coffee or tea and work puzzles....hmmmmmmmm poor me, it really was torture :)

Mark pretty much wore himself out. He was literally out shoveling and working on the sledding hill for hours on Thursday. When he came in he was frozen and just a "tad" sore.. He was having so much fun I think he lost track of time. I think he forgets he's not 20 yrs old anymore. I think that is a good thing even if he has some sore muscles.

Here are some pictures...

The first day.. Thursday


2nd day.. Friday. The sun was out and it felt like 70 degrees. Thus my kids in short sleeve shirts. I tried to tell them to put on a jacket but I got "MOM!" It's SO hot! So back to my puzzle I went.

The rest of the story..

I realize it wasn't much of a stretch to figure out that someone was hiding Easter Eggs... but it was so funny and the boys loved it so much I wanted to tell about it.

We were living in Florida. The boys were around 2 & 5 yrs old. Grandma lived next door. Easter morning we looked outside and what did we see?? Grandma dressed in an Easter Bunny Costume crouching around and sneaking over to surprise the boys (and us). It was so funny. I was laughing so hard. We had no idea she even had a bunny costume. A few neighbors were peeking out their windows too!

Connor wasn't feeling well. He was sick on Easter..bummer. But Grandma the Easter Bunny sure cheered him up. I still laugh out loud when I look at these pictures and the boys will never forget that Easter!

The date on the pictures is the date I took the picture of a picture. This was Easter 2003.

From flashback Grandma Easter bunny

Alex seeing Grandma the Easter bunny for the first time.. I love the look on his face

From flashback Grandma Easter bunny

From flashback Grandma Easter bunny

From flashback Grandma Easter bunny

Connor came out for a while, wasn't feeling good. Grandma's pool in the background.

From flashback Grandma Easter bunny

Flashback Friday with a twist...

This week for Flashback Friday I am adding a twist. I got the idea from my friend Terra over at The Emerson Girls blog . She does Wordless Wednesday where you tell the story. Basically you try to guess what the story is behind the picture and then she posts the real story later on.

So here is the Flashback for this week. What do you think the story behind it is??

Dinosaur Ridge - The Dinosaur Highway

On Sunday we took a drive up to "the Dinosaur highway" in Morrison with our friends, The Changs and did a little hiking on Dinosaur Ridge and of course visited the gift shop. It was a very pretty spring day. A little windy but pretty. It is one of the boys (especially Connor's) favorite places to go. We have been there many times but they still love it. It was fun to have the Changs along.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

What's Cookin' Wednesday... Home made Sloppy Joes

Make a Smilebox recipe

Big Thanks to All...

First I want to thank all of you for all the encouragement you've given me over the past few days and all the prayers and good thoughts you sent my way yesterday.

The surgery went pretty well although there were more stones than they thought. The Dr. said there were quite a bit more than he usually sees.. this coming from a Surgeon who has probably done thousands of these operations. That was concerning to me because I'm otherwise A pretty healthy person.. I will be curious to talk to him about it at my follow up visit. I was also in recovery longer than expected due to waking up in a lot of pain and being nauseated (this I don't remember, the Dr. told Mark. Apparently they just gave me some meds for nausea and let me sleep it off. When I was awake (again) I didn't feel too bad.. just a little nauseous and a little medicine took care of that. My surgery started a little before noon and I was home by 4:00.. Just in time to see the boys riding their bikes home from school. (A sight for sore eyes or sore abdomen as it were) I was pretty sore for a couple of hours and it hurt to sit up but after taking some pain medication I began moving around and actually felt good enough to help Alex with his homework.

I do want to give credit where credit is due:

Thank you to all my family and friends whose kind words and acts of kindness really helped making this ordeal easier. I don't want to mention names here in fear I will leave someone out but you know who you are and I love you all.

Thank you to my friends in the blog world who have never even met me or my family yet shared such kind words and sent prayers.

Thank you to my surgeon Dr. S. who even though he has been practicing a very long while and probably done thousands of these surgeries treated me like I was his first. He is a very soft spoken kind man. He was very kind and patient when explaining the procedure and really interested in answering any questions I had and making me feel more comfortable about it.

Thank you to my recovery nurse who laughed a long with me when I would say something silly or ask the same question more than once. I told her I felt like Dory (from Nemo) with my short term memory. I would say "I already asked you that didn't I?" She would just smile and say "that's ok" and answer again. She said that most of her patients won't remember talking to her. She had one recently that asked her to come visit her in her hospital room a few hours later so being the kind nurse she is she went to visit this patient. The patient didn't remember her at all! This didn't really surprise her because of the medications but I can truly say I DO remember your company, kindness and sense of humor Kelly and I Will remember you.

I know there is a lot of speculation right now about our country and people feeling like it is not the great country it once was. I am also guilty of some of these thoughts. I also know there are many issues about health care and I know some people have horror stories about it but I have to say after my experience yesterday, I feel very fortunate to live in a country where we have such great hospitals, and medical practitioners who do there very best to keep us alive and well!

Last but not least, I want to thank my husband and boys. Thank you Mark for being there as you always have been without fail for over half of our lives. I know it was boring sitting around in the waiting room, especially when you had so much work to do. Thank you for not leaving even though I told you to go get some work done and come back later. It really was a comfort to know you were only a minute away. Sorry for scaring you out of your wits when the nurse came in before the surgery and said "I should have the results of your pregnancy test in a minute and then we can continue on" It's just a precaution.. but caught Mark a little off guard :0 I think he's still recovering from that one..haha

Thank you Connor for hollering back from clear across the cul de sac, in front of your friends, on your way to school "I love you Mom!" (not an easy thing for an 11yr old) I looked at Mark with big eyes and said did you hear that? He did. It was priceless. Not that he doesn't say he loves me but just not so openly in front of his friends and whoever else might have been listening in the neighborhood. Thank you Alex for being so glad to see me. I could see in your eyes you had probably worried about me during the day between breaks of recess and lunch, oh and maybe music class..haha Your gentle hugs were precious.

Ok I think I'm done. Imagine if I'd had a Serious Surgery, you'd really be tired of hearing about it by now?? I promise I will move along now..

If you don't mind..

I will be in surgery today so I would appreciate any little prayers or good thoughts you could send our way. I'm not picky.. it could be a small prayer, positive thoughts, good energy, light. I'm open to it all :)

Thank you, hopefully I will be back to blogging soon!

What's happening to me....?

I'm going to be honest here. I have not been very pleasant to be around. I know, I know, it's really hard to believe but it's true. I guess it's partly nerves about the surgery and just not feeling well in general.. not that it is an excuse but that's my story and yes, I'm sticking to it!

I'm going to confess it all here so that hopefully I can go into my surgery Monday and come out a new woman.. no pesky gall bladder problems and a clear conscience.

I am not very proud of my behavior so I think it will be easier to use the Not Me Monday carnival form, even though it isn't Monday yet... so here goes.

1. I did not sneer at a coach yesterday as we were walking across the field for our first flag football game of the season and say "Well, at least we don't have that a-hole for a coach" :0

2. My husband did not look at me like "who are you and what did you do with my wife?" (at that moment even I thought "did I say that out loud??"

3. He also didn't say something like "well, that's a little rough!"

(in my defense, we've played this coach a couple of times and lets just say he's one of those coaches who live vicariously through 7 and 8 yr old boys and is not nice)

4. I have not had to apologize to my 11 yr old twice or maybe three times for overreacting and barking at him when it really wasn't deserved.

5. I did not tell my husband to watch out for a traffic light close to our house because it didn't seem to be working properly. I had a green light and went to turn left and the oncoming traffic started coming too.. I got the hands thrown up in the air and dirty look from a man. I thought what is his problem? I had the green light!

a) my husband did not look at me and blankly nod.

b) I did not NOT have a green arrow only a green light :O

c) when this dawned on me I did not consider turning over my drivers license right then and there.

( I did confess to Mark later in the day what I had done and he said.. I knew something wasn't right with that but I watched that "darn" light everytime I went through it today.)

6. I did not announce to my family that we are not doing our usual 20 minutes of reading together because I am watching American Idol!

I think I will leave it at that. There is more I'm sure but I think you get the picture :)


I would love to hear any stories you may have of your less than finest moments. Come on, you can tell me. Look at me, I just admitted all this to all of you and I'm going to publish it before I change my mind.

Flashback Friday

5 yr old Alex in the Jungle play at his preschool. He was a Jungle boy..

The Secret of Weight loss..

Now that I have your attention.......................

For those of you who didn't see my Four F's post , I have been having a problem with my Gall Bladder. I will be having it taken out on Monday. Although I will miss it (not) I think I will feel much better when it's gone. I've had to watch very carefully, everything I put in my mouth "gasp!" I may have even lost a couple of pounds, imagine that! I think I may be on to something here. It's the Gallbladder diet! Basically there are 2 simple steps; 1. Eat smaller portions 2. Cut out greasy and fatty foods. What a concept! Who needs those fancy diet plans. Of course now that I've shared the true secret to weight loss with you I will have to trust that you won't pass it around until I've published my new book "The true secret to losing weight in 2 easy steps". But just remember, you heard it here first.

I think it's a good thing the surgery is on Monday because I've just about gotten all the goody out of it that I can. At first the boys were concerned and understanding if I didn't feel well, but I think they are over it. Well at least there is still the surgery. I'm sure I will be pretty tired and maybe a little sore for at least a couple of days. It's going to be pretty tough laying around all day reading and watching tv. Oh well, that's life right? :)

So I was wondering.. as soon as I get rid of this pesky gall bladder, who is up for Mexican food? Or no wait maybe a juicy cheese burger.. Or maybe something fried?

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

Make a Smilebox recipe

Don't forget to go green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink.

"Why of course," comes the reply.

The first man then asks: "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Ireland," replies the second man.

The first man responds: "You don't say, I'm from Ireland too! Let's have another round to Ireland."
"Of Course," replies the second man.

Curious, the first man then asks: "Where in Ireland are you from?"
"Dublin," comes the reply.
"I can't believe it," says the first man.
"I'm from Dublin too! Let's have another drink to Dublin."
"Of course," replies the second man.

Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks:
"What school did you go to?"
"Saint Mary's," replies the second man.
"I graduated in '62."

"This is unbelievable!" the first man says.
"I went to Saint Mary's and I graduated in '62, too!"

About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar.
"What's been going on?" he asks the bartender.
"Nothing much," replies the bartender. "The O'Malley twins are drunk again."

What my boys have to say about me..

I came across this idea for Q & A's from a couple of other blogs. You may want to check them out. One is The Emerson Family blog, another is A Nut in a Nutshell. I thought it would be scary, I mean fun. So I asked the boys a few questions. Here are their answers.

Connor, 11 yrs old
Alex, 8 yrs old


1. What is something mom always says to you?

C: Pick up your shoes.
A: Pick up your socks and shoes.
Me: I think I see a pattern forming here. See my blog about socks.

2. What makes mom happy?

C: Our family.
A: When we do the right things.
Me: That's pretty darn accurate



3. What makes mom sad?

C: some movies, well most movies.
A: Sad movies.
Me: Yes, I'm a big sap and I can find something to cry about in just about any movie I watch. It's embarrassing to me but my boys are used to it.. two of them know just when to hand me a kleenex and not say a word but my youngest will usually look straight at me and say "omg
Mom! Are you crying about that?!" Or when a certain part comes up he will look at me and say "Are you going to cry Mom?"

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

C: I don't know. You're just funny.
A: When you tickle me.



5. What was your mom like as a child?
C: I know that you played with dolls. (true)
A: I don't know. (looking at me like what kind of question is that??)



6. How old is your mom?
C: 42. Easy question.

A: 42.
Me: Did I mention my kids are Dyslexic?

7. How tall is your mom?

C: 5' (he forgot the 3/4" on that, but I'll let it slide this time)
A: I dont know 5'? Mom, why are you asking me these questions??



8. What is her favorite thing to do?

C: Blog and scrapbook.
A: Go out to eat.



9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

C: Clean and blog.
A: Work
Me: I wonder where they got the illusion that I clean and work when they are not around..


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

C: Excellent Blogging :) (wasn't that sweet)
A: don't know.


11. What is your mom really good at?


C: blogging, scrapbooking and family football.
A: Reading.



12. What is your mom not very good at?

C: dancing (ouch) (remember Elaine dancing on Seinfeld, that's what popped into my mind)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xi4O1yi6b0

A: I don't know (good answer but also a cop out)


13. What does your mom do for a job?
C: Take care of us (smile)
A: Mom, just type something random ok!! (he's just not into this. if it's not about him he's just not interested, I wonder if I may have spoiled him just a little..nah.)



14.What is your mom's favorite food?


C: Rocky Road Ice Cream (that is one of them for sure)
A: Mexican. (right on)
Me: Gee, I wonder why I'm having gall bladder surgery next week?


15.What makes you proud of your mom?
C: Her excellent blogging and scrapbooking. (smiling, this is going much better than I expected)

A: Can we do this later??? ( well, maybe not. I do believe he's losing patience with me.)



16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
C: Betty Rubble (he said Mrs. Puff from Sponge Bob first but was nice enough to retract, although even I can see Mrs. Puff is closer.. dang. The truth hurts.)
A. Minnie Mouse.
Me: I would love to know which cartoon character you think I resemble??

From blog cartoons

From blog cartoons

From blog cartoons

17. What do you and your mom do together?
C: Football and internet stuff.


A: Puzzles



18. How are you and your mom the same?
C: We both like the computer.

A: We both like Mexican food.



19. How are you and your mom different?
C: I'm going to be tall..(lol) (thanks a lot)


A: I'm a boy.. (he said it like duhhh)



20. How do you know your mom loves you?
C: She hugs me. (every chance I get)

A: Because she's my Mom.



21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
C: He's nice. (simple but true)

A: He makes us eat fruit. :)

Me: and he has cute buns.. ( just thought I'd throw that in to see if he's reading my blog.. he will be horrified.. oh this is so fun.)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
C: Wichita to see her family. (very perceptive)

A: Archivers Scrapbooking store.

Me: I thought for sure Alex was going to say Brewery Bar or 3 Margaritas.. we seem to have a food theme going with him.

Well, this was fun for me even if Alex ran out of patience. I hope you enjoy it too. I would love to see some of yours. You could even mix it up with different people in your family.

Flashback Friday

A few years back...




A few months ago.. they have grown just a little.. but they are still my babies.

Random thoughts and pictures

Alex practicing drumming...

From Random pics

I've been having some trouble with my new camera, some pictures coming out with a yellow tint (anyone know why?) I wanted to play around with it a little so I told the boys to just keep playing and I was going to snap some pictures. It was so funny because then they really started posing and showing off.

From Random pics

No the white thing is not a ghost. Connor threw a shirt just as I was taking the picture.

From Random pics

Check it out. I got the picture just as he was dunking the ball (ok, I'll be honest it took a "few" tries to get it).

From Random pics

From Random pics

Mark spraying the boys hair for Crazy Hair Day...

From Random pics

From Random pics

Crazy Hair Day...

From Random pics

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

Make a Smilebox recipe

What I learned this week...

What I learned this week combined with my favorite quotes of the week.

Check out what others have learned this week over at Musings of a Housewife.


Just settling in for bed. A is at the foot of the bed on the floor in his sleeping bag (don't judge me :)

A: Mom, can you come down here?
me: Oh honey I just got settled in (with my book). I thought he wanted me to lay with him.
A: I just want to tell you something
me: I go down next to him.
A: I just wanted to tell you that I was messing around in class. We had to draw a body and I drew a penis on mine. I erased it but my teacher saw it and I think she might talk to you about it at my conference next week. I'm sorry Mom.
me: (feeling a little horrified but wanting to giggle at the same time, the things teachers must see). I say, well thank you for telling me.
A: I'm sorry Mom.
me: You do realize that it was inappropriate, especially at school.
A: I know.. but so and so drew an afro on his and he didn't get in trouble. EVERYONE was being silly..
me: Everyone??
A: yes.
me: again, you understand why this is inappropriate and you should never do anything like that again?
A: yes.
Me thinking: I bet his teacher gave him the option of telling me before she did.. At least he did tell me. I can't wait to see her at his conference :)


C: Mom, I'm sorry but I really don't like your new haircut.

me: that's ok honey. I got it cut short to get rid of the layers and color. It will grow out.

C: It looks like a bad wig... sorry Mom.

me: That's okay (he is so honest.. he just can't help it. At least he follows it with an apology, the little bugger).

So what I learned this week is that my children are NOT perfect and they may even be a little......obscene at times. "gasp" Also that they may be brutally honest but I'm pretty sure they still love me.

Perfect Moment Monday

I Capture
Perfect Moments.

My Perfect moment this week was during our "reading time". A few weeks ago I talked to Mark and we decided to implement a 20 minute a night reading time. This is in addition to my 8 yr olds required 15 minutes of reading for homework that he reads outloud to Mark or I. It seems with two boys, our house is often filled with jumping, yelling, banging, running in and out, phone ringing.. etc. That is fine but I thought wouldn't it be nice if we had at least 20 minutes each evening to just have quiet and it would be good for the boys to sit down and read. They have lots of good books they haven't read because they just aren't the type of kids who love to sit down and read. I also go to the library at least once a week so the choices are unlimited.

Anyway there was a little grumbling at first and I'm sure a little of just staring at the page and not really reading. I decided not to say much and just see if it sparks something. Well a couple of days ago we were all sitting in our favorite comfy spots in the living room reading. I looked around and Connor was reading a book he had gotten for Christmas..something about Colorado ghosts and he was really into it! He was actually turning pages. Then I looked at Alex and he is intently reading one of his "Tacky the Penguin" books (which is a very cute book if you want to check it out)and actually smiling at what he was reading... mmmmmmmmmmmm Mommy's heart was happy. I love reading and love to see them get the enjoyment I do out of it.

And last but not least. My hubby is not a reader. He never sits down long enough unless it's something factual that he needs to know. Well he's been reading " Mike Nelson's Weather Almanac" and actually reading not just skimming. He has told me more than once thank you for coming up with the idea because he is actually enjoying it very much and learning to like reading.. :)

I am reading a book called Hold Tight. You can read a review on it and other books over at my friend Terra's book review blog, Tales From the Nightstand.

I have to give credit where credit is due. My friend Terra actual planted a seed when she told me about our friend Paige who does this with her family..

For more Perfect Moment Monday stories.. check out Lori's Weebles Wobblog

The four F's........

Well, it's official.
My name is Bonnie and I have Gall stones . I looked up Gall bladder in a book I got from the library called YOU, THE OWNER'S MANUAL. It is co written by DR. OZ as seen on Oprah. Anyway I thought I kind of liked this guy until I read the four F's. He said that the majority of the time Gallbladder problems occur in people with these credentials.... Forties, FAT, Fertile, and female. Now that is just NOT nice! I've know skinny people with Gall stones. So take that Dr. Oz!!!

Actually the book is pretty good it is "an insiders guide to the body that will make you healthier and younger. You really can't go wrong with a book like that.

I have an appointment with a surgeon next Thursday for a consult. From what I understand the surgery is pretty simple and you are in and out in the same day. It is done Laparoscopically. I won't know when the surgery is until I go in.

Public apology....

I just want to apologize to my little gall bladder that has been with me through thick and thin (literally) for the past 42 years. I'm sorry if I worked you too hard eating too many fatty foods..such as my favorites, Mexican food, cheeseburgers, fries, and chocolate. It was fun while it lasted but now I must let you go and "gasp" slow down on the fatty foods :( Thank you for the exemplary service. You did the best you could. So goodbye little GB. Goodbye.

Flashback Friday 2001 or 2002

I have to admit when I found this picture I fell in love with my boys all over again... Alex chatting with Connor while he's in the bathtub. The only thing I can't figure out is why Alex is not in the bath tub with Connor. If there is water anywhere Alex is in it.

Alex's Famous Person Program

Alex's class had a program today. They have been working on it for quite a while. It was a famous person presentation. Alex's person was Alexander Graham Bell. I noticed today that his teacher tried to match the kids names with the famous people..like Christopher did Chris Columbus..etc. I thought that was really thoughtful. Alex had a little meltdown the other night because they had done a pod cast on their famous person and he didn't think he did very well. Turns out he did great. I don't know what he was worried about.. oh well. Here are the pictures. It was so hard not to run up and tuck his shirt in. He would have just been tickled with me.

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

Make a Smilebox recipe

Trying to fold a sleeping bag and coming undone..

We have quite a few sleepovers and happened to have one the other night. Well, I've always had a problem with folding sleeping bags. I usually will piddle around and clean up everything around them until Mark jumps in and starts folding. Then I will say "do you need some help with that?" I really hate folding sleeping bags and I'm not good at it. I've often thought there has to be a better way! Or maybe I just don't know the trick (like folding fitted sheets), I know I've been told there is a way to fold a fitted sheet but I could never do it and mine always end up looking like a wadded up mess. I try to fold the sleeping bags and Mark will say you have to fold it "tight". How in the world does this work? They slip and slide no matter how hard I try and by the end it's just big lumpy mess!

It got me to thinking. I wonder who invented sleeping bags and why didn't they finish the job and invent a great way to fold and store them? So I looked it up. Would you believe the person was female and she was a Viking Warrior Princess.. Her name was Freydis Eiriksdottir She was quite a lady. I mean she was a viking warrior. Would you believe she made the first sleeping bag from an extra sail from her ship. It is believed she accidentally invented it during one of two expeditions colonizing the Americas.. who knew? I guess she was a little busy surviving and being a warrior and princess to worry about a whiny housewife having trouble folding a sleeping bag. Am I the only one who can't fold a sleeping bag??

From sleeping bags

From sleeping bags

Favorite quotes of the week...

Alex, coming in the house after walking home from school... "Mom!" "That Groundhog was wrong!"

Me, trying to figure out what the heck he is talking about "What?"

Alex: "Feel my neck... it's all sweaty!!"


Me: "Connor, I just hate when you don't feel good and there is nothing I can do."

Connor: "Well, it's no picnic for me either!."


For those of you that don't watch American Idol you may not get this but this year they have changed their format and are going about picking the top 12 a little differently. Well, Alex is my faithful AI watcher companion but he is just not getting this. I'm sure it's hilarious to listen to us go round and round as I'm trying to explain it. It goes something like this.

Alex: "So, did the guy with the glasses whose wife died make it?"

Me: "Yes, his name is Danny, remember last week he was in the top 3?"

Alex: "So where is he tonight?"

Me: "Remember how I explained to you they are doing 12 at a time and picking 3 each week out of the 12 and then at the end they will pick 3 more and that will make the final 12."

Alex: "So where is the guy with the glasses whose wife died?"

And it goes on and on and on............ Mark and Connor are not into it but once in a while will ask a question similar to this and I have to admit last night at the dinner table I got a little exasperated. I said "OK." "Everyone listen, I'm going to explain this once and for all. There are 36 finalists...etc........ by the end they were all just looking at me with blank stares. I know they still didn't get it or more accurately don't really care, and Alex and I will have the same conversation next week...... I can't wait to get to the final 12. Then I can say "OK, forget HOW they got here but here are the final 12" :)

Now that I think about it, doing homework with Alex kind of goes the same way.. by the way if you read this Alex, you know how much I love and adore you. You make me laugh every day....... but sometimes you have a hard time focusing, can't imagine why, you are an 8 yr old boy who would rather be doing anything other than homework.
So sometimes it sounds something like this...

Me: "Okay so 7 + 7 is what?" (doing double digit addition and subtraction)

Alex: "ummmmmmmmmmmm, drops his pencil, tries to lean waaaaaaaaay over in his chair to get it, ends up falling out off the chair. Suddenly when he sees the frustration on my face, he's hurt. But Mom I hurt my leg! on and on

Me: "ok so 7 + 7 is what?"

Alex: "ummmmmmmmmmm, mom did I tell you my teacher sucks on Halls candy ALL day and when I'm reading with her It's REALLY strong?"

Me: "Do you think she has a cough or sore throat?" (oh boy, now I'M getting off track)

Me again: "Okay lets focus, what is 7 + 7?"

Alex: "what?" "Did I tell you when I was playing soccer at recess, Trevor kicked me really hard?!"

Me: "Oh my word, I am going to buy flashcards tomorrow, you know this!!!"

Me: "okay, 19 + 19 ='s........ I'm not kidding he starts counting on his fingers! "Alex are you kidding me? You can't add that with your fingers!"

Alex: "Yes I can." "20,21,22,23.................

Me: "Alexander! how do you do it at school? You round it off, count tens and then the ones or just write it down and carry like I did when I was in school."

Alex: (writes down 19+19) "Mom what's 9 + 9?".

Me: (thinking to myself......... has this child learned nothing? Panicking a little, ok a lot. Surely he knows his math facts better than this! I know we have flashcards around her somewhere.. oh no I sold them at the garage sale because we didn't need them any longer.. :0) I just love to rebuy things I practically gave away...)

From flashcards

Mark: (From the other room) "Bonnie, is everything ok in there?"

Me: "Everything is FINE!!"

Mark: "Ok."

This can go on forever.. then other nights he's done in 15 minutes......... Could it be my husband is right, he is working me and enjoys the attention? Nahhh. couldn't be.

Chest pains??

I feel really bad that I mentioned my chest pains so casually in my last blog and didn't realize I would cause such a stir...you love me! You really love me! I appreciate all the concerned emails and calls I really didn't mean to leave you hanging, so here is the scoop.

A couple of years ago I started having chest pains, dizziness, I would wake up with my heart about to pound out of my chest.. Well since heart disease runs in my family I was sure my heart was going out on me. I went to the Dr. and they ran a lot of test (expensive tests!) Only to discover my heart is fine and it was all anxiety/panic attacks. Who knew your mind could do so much to effect your body! I sure didn't. Well once I knew it was anxiety of course that was half the cure. I felt better soon after.

Well, about a week ago I started having a pain and pressure in my chest that got worse and worse. It was very painful and I kept walking around trying to get rid of it. Of course Mark was concerned also but it finally went away and I was fine. Then one day last week, Mark left to run some errands and I was home alone. The pain started again only this time much worse. I tried to call Mark and he didn't answer right away, so I thought should I call 911? I may be having a heart attack and if I just sit here and do nothing, that would be crazy. So eventually I called my friend/neighbor Helen next door and she wasn't home, then I tried my other friend/neighbor Julie and she wasn't home but her husband (Jim) came over. He asked what was wrong and if he should call 911. I said I didn't know but Mark would be home soon (I did get a hold of him). So he came home and by then the pain had subsided.. (I later told Helen I had tried to call her that day and she said "OH" and I said something like "yeah, I really didn't need anything, just thought I was having a heart attack".)

I went to the Dr. yesterday and my heart checked out fine.. My Doctor said it sounded like a gall bladder attack. I was relieved.. Again I'm trying to blame my poor heart when it's doing it's job just fine. Sorry little heart..just keep on keepin' on :).

As it stands I'm waiting to hear on my blood work and next Wednesday will have an ultrasound on my gall bladder..

Sorry again for the scare but hey now I know if I need a little attention just mention a few little chest pains and leave ya hangin'. Sorry.