Fun times

If you don't regularly check my sister Erin's blog, please do so. There is some cute video of the cousins dancing. It also captures my dear Kate's singing voice. It's....well, you judge for yourself.

Another AJ tribute

Okay AJ I am NOT stalking you, but with the death of Michael Jackson, I just want all your/my blog readers to know that AJ sported one red leather rhinestone jacket in the 3rd grade.
I can't recall but she also might have had the single glove. Ah memories...

Following AJ's footsteps

Erin, my mother, and I are going to a weekend getaway to Las Vegas! We are leaving Friday night July 17, and we will return on the 20th (my birthday). We are staying at........THE WYNN!!!!!!!!
My mom has wanted to see Vegas again. The last time she was there was 1972, and she was prego with Erin. Erin needs/deserves/wants a little getaway, so here we are.
I am hoping that the three of us can get along, laugh a lot, and relax. Erin, my mom, and I have very different temperaments, and to be honest, theirs mesh way more with one another than with me.
This will be good for me. Brady is my main man, and while I love it, I think it will be healthy for him to have some forced daddy time. I also think that after almost a year of feeding Brady during the night if need be, Thad can take a stab at it for three nights.
I can't wait!

Forty Years

A lot has happened over the last 40 years: We have had eight different Presidents, one of which resigned, another a father/son duo, and of course, an African American.
The eight track, cassette tape, walkman, boom box, CD, MP3, Ipod, and sadly, all of these led to the demise of a good old record.
We have gone through protest music, hard rock, folk rock, singer/songwriter music, disco, punk rock, hair bands, pop music, Madonna, the Bee Gees, Prince, the rise and fall of Michael Jackson, boy bands, girl bands, rap, hip hop, screamo music, grunge, alternative, and all sorts of music.
The microwave, push button telephone, cordless telephone, cell phone, color television, remote control, cable television, Home Box Office, MTV, the computer, email, internet, and many other technologies to make our home lives easier and more enjoyable.
We have had hit shows like the Brady Bunch, Little House on the Prairie, MASH, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Dallas, Dukes of Hazzard, The Incredible Hulk, The Golden Girls, Friends, ER, Solid Gold, The Carol Burnett Show, Late night with Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and now Conan O'Brien.
We have lost great people like: many past Presidents, Natalie Wood, Princess Grace, Princess Diana, Elvis Pressley, the Rat Pack, John Lennon, Marvin Gaye, Indira Ghandi, Yitzhak Rabin, Heath Ledger, and so forth.
Newsworthy events include: the invasion of Cambodia and subsequent Kent State shootings killing four college kids, ending of the war in Vietnam, AIDS epidemic, Oklahoma City Bombing, OJ Simpson murder saga, Manson Family murder saga, Roe v. Wade, Iran hostage crisis, Challenger explosion, Patty Heart and the SLA, Sandra Day O'Connor being appointed Supreme Court Justice, the disolution of Communism, wars in Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia, Sudan, starvation in Africa, and many more.
We have endured trends such as hotpants, bell bottoms, skin tight high wasted jeans, leisure suits, pinned jeans, huge shoulder pads, baggy clothes, low wasted jeans, perms, bitch bangs, flat ironed hair, pre flat ironed hair, sun in, side burns, lamb chops, mullets, and much more.
Through this last forty years, amongst all the above mentioned things, my parents have been married. They have witnessed each event I wrote about and their own 'stuff.' The dealt with lay offs, the loss of their parents, each lost a sibling, putting up with me, working, staying at home, teeth braces on one child, a back brace on another, living as a family of four in a two bedroom apartment, moving away and returning to Moorhead, seven grandchildren, two weddings, putting two kids through college and graduate school, the death of friends, the death of relatives, my dad's cigar habit, the purchase and loss of family pets, and too many other things to list.
I can't recall one time that they ever left us to go on a vacation. I can't recall them going out and leaving us with a sitter too often for their own "couple time." I think we took a total of two road trips growing up. Believe me, you don't want me to relive those. They were awful.
I just wanted to congratulate my mom and dad on forty years of wedding bliss. Thank you for being role models to us.

Grateful...

I am just winding down after a busy few days. Want to know what I have been busy doing? Being a mom, aunt, daughter, and wife. I am quite content.(Okay so it's the first week of my vacation. Don't ask me about this in August.)
I wish that I had a camera with me at all times, because I never capture each child doing his/her own thing. I don't have enough hands the way it is, and really, who has time to document every.waking.move?
Anyway...Ryan isn't in any of these photos. I am grateful for Ryan, because even though he can be one tough cookie, he pulls through when I need it most. Thad and Ryan made golf plans for this morning. Unfortunately, Thad was paged out at 1am, and didn't return home until 11am the next morning. I explained to Ryan what happened. He understood.
I am grateful for Kate, because she is (mostly) so kind hearted. I loved watching her play with her cousin Ashley last weekend. I love watching her play with her friend Lucy, her cousins Grant, Ross, and Hope, talking with Tami my friend, and entertaining Brady.
I am grateful for Olivia, because she is resilient, happy, funny, and darn right fun. I love her watching her play with, well, anyone. If you know Olivia, you understand what I mean. I just w
I am grateful to Brady for always smiling, preferring his mommy over anyone else, for the endless snuggles, and for coming into our life. He is such a darling.
This next picture reflects what I did today: took my kids and Erin's oldest two to the Fargo South pool. Wow it's great! I am grateful for my sister, my parents, my nieces and nephews (ALL of them), and my in laws. They are all awesome, supportive, and I think together we are teaching our kids life long lessons about love, fun, and family.
I am grateful my sister in law and her family are now in the cities. Yeah! We get to see them more often.

Last but certainly not least, I am grateful for Thad. Without a doubt, Thad is an awesome husband, father, and friend. He makes me laugh, calls me out on stuff I do, let's me call him out on stuff he does, and yet through it all, Thad remains my partner in crime. Happy Father's Day Thad!

And after I posted this blog, I went upstairs and saw this precious site: Olivia is sleeping with the gift she made for her daddy today. She told Thad that she wanted to sleep with it so she didn't forget to give it to him right away in the morning........

I can't believe I forgot to acknowledge Kate's 7th birthday. I have a good reason though!
Thad got a case at around noon that day that kept him away from home until past 11pm that night. He worked on it all weekend, and is still working on it. Let's hope justice is served. That's all I can say about that.
Since I found out shortly before school was over that I was going to be in charge of our family festivities AND Ryan's baseball games that night, I adjusted my plans. The original plan was to pick up the kids, make brownies for Kate, get everyone fed, take Ryan to baseball, and bring the kids with me.
What actually happened was another story. As I began my block and a half drive to Jo's house, I realized I had a flat tire. Being the typical helpless female that I am when it involves things I am not familiar with, I called Thad. He, of course, can do nothing for me. My father is more helpless than I am (no offense dad if you read this). So I called our 'car guy,' and he told me who to call and what to ask for. The tow truck arrived, filled up my tire, and then I went to the car place.
Meanwhile, all this has taken about an hour. I called my mom to make brownies for Kate, because only a middle/second child would have the luck to get so screwed on her special day. I wasn't about to let that happen. Grandpa picked up Ryan since I had no way to get him to baseball. He brought him to my house to get his uniform and then to McDonalds for a nutritious meal. Turns out Ryan realized at my parents' house that he forgot his shoes. My stubborn dad wasn't going to go get them, until he realized Ryan was in a panic. Finding the shoes as per Ryan's directions was another mini disaster, but they were found.
The girls then begged to stay at Grandma Jo's until 7:30. So after the car drama, I ran home, let Brady take a power nap, ate, picked up my house for company, fed/nursed the B man, and went to baseball. Whew.
Kate and a lovely birthday, and an even lovelier birthday party that weekend. It was a "Frog" themed party, and all 20 or so kids had a great time.

Alright, fine, now you have it

How lame that I took a picture of myself with braces from my school computer. I had to do it in black and white so you wouldn't see just how 'eh' I look today.

I am working four of the five days this week. Today, I need to fully move out of my classroom and into another one. It's a big transition for me and not one I am too excited about. 

The "dungeon" has been my home since I began teaching in 1999. Next year, I am teaching in "the wing" (the ninth grade wing to you non teachers out there). I will be on the third floor. You can't get much further away from where I am now. 

I will still be teaching sociology to juniors and seniors, but instead of my beloved 10th grade history (post reconstruction to the present), I will be teaching settlement through reconstruction (post Civil War). 

I am nervous to say the least. I haven't even touched that era of history since, oh, the fall of 1994. How many of you remember the course work from your very first quarter of college? I have a lot of curriculum planning to do this summer!

But, in true Bonnie mode, there is just so much more to discuss!  Kate had her birthday party Saturday evening. I will try to post pictures later. A total of around 20 kids swam at the Marriot in town. I think they all had a great time. My heart swelled when the (only) boy from Kate's class who she invited came up to me and said, "This is the first birthday party I have ever been invited to! I am having so much fun!" Bless Kate's heart for seeking out the underdog, and not only asking him to be a part of her big day, but making him feel special enough to be the only boy invited. It was too sweet.

Yesterday Thad and I took our three and Erin's older two to the movie Up. What a good movie! The theater was packed. We were split up in to three groups: Ryan had to sit with a friend who he saw there who had room for him, Thad sat four rows from the front with Kate and Grant, and I got Olivia and Ross in the row that was second from the front. Can we say TOO close? I wish a had a camera to capture Ross's face for the entire 100 minutes of the movie. His eyes were so large, and his mouth was hanging open. He and Olivia munched on their popcorn and watched the entire movie. Toward the end, Olivia was ready to go. Ross, however, looked like he could have sat in that same spot all.day.long. 

Well back to work for this old gal. As you can tell, I am using the avoidance strategy right now. I must get back to work, to moving, to sorting, throwing, and reminiscing. 

Happy 7th Birthday

to my dear, sweet, kind, sensitive, silly, artistic, and darling Kate Elizabeth. She was the girl I never thought I would have, the easy child to my older tough one, and the brown eyed baby compared to my blueish eyed boy.
I have told her often (and it's the truth), that we went on to have not one, but two more children.
Happy Birthday sweet Kate. Grandpa loves you more than frogs (I'll explain in another post), but I love you more than anything.

My "grill"

My "grill" (or braces to us oldies) is on. Don't expect a planned photo. I am too vein. 

My mouth is getting worse as I write, but I am taking Tylenol.  Yesterday was painless. Today is...well...a little more painful. I am also brushing my teeth non-stop. I can't believe I am taking in any food. It seems to be all in my teeth. 

Anyway, I know you are jealous. I look soooo ridiculously cool right now.