Cindy's Life as She Knows It

Today I had three kids here, including my own.  We were in full swing by 8am and after breakfast and a little free play time, they sat down at the table with July 4th summer packets full of word games, coloring pages and other fun activities meant to keep their little brains working through the summer.  After about 30 minutes we popped some popcorn, chose snacks, got our water bottles and headed off to the Hollywood Theater to meet up with friends and see Flushed Away, a free summer flick offering.  Dakota and I had never seen it before and he loved it!  I, however, was less enthused.  It was fun for them, though, and afterward we came home and the kids played outside while I made lunch.  They ate,learned a little from me about why we celebrate July 4th and then spent some more time on their packets and outdoors.  About 1:30 we had craft time outside on the picnic table.  It was a gorgeous day and the craft involved glitter, so there were two pluses there!  We used glue and glitter on

Yesterday we got into the swing of things with our summer fun activities that included our friends.  I will babysit at least a few days each week.  Some days I may have four kids, including Dakota, some days any mix of the four, but always to include Dakota :-)  Yesterday we had a field trip to Port Discovery and I had Dakota, his cousin Mariah and his buddy Wyatt.  All of them will be seven really soon.  We arrived at Port Discovery at 9:45 and the kids played near the fountain while our group gathered. We went in at 10 and they spent three hours playing, pretending and discovering.  There was a Tinkertoys exhibit, mystery house, Egyptian "tomb", three story playground, water fun room and more.  They got along great, stayed together and didn't fight the entire time.  After we left we ended up waiting outside for 30 minutes for our ride and I got them an ice cream and they giggled and talked and kept themselves happily busy until we got home.  After lunch they played in D

Today is the last Sunday in June.  Summer is here and before you know it, school will start and it will be Christmas.  I know that it's all going to go by that quickly, but the good thing this year is that if July flies by, my daughter and granddaughter will be home forever and I won't have to miss them anymore. My heart is very, very tired of missing them.  I am sitting here on my deck this morning watching the ospreys in their nest at the park, checking my computer, sipping coffee and really enjoying the quiet in my life.  My husband and teenage son are camping and my little son is sleeping still.  There is no humidity in the air this morning and it's a tad bit cool, the birds are active and noisy and things are good.  Today I really want to stay home.  I have work to do for my job, the house to clean and I bought stuff last week for Natalie's room/the playroom and I want to get it ready before she comes home this coming weekend to meet the rest of the family and to b

Today was a tough one at camp.  It was very hot and muggy and the kids were definitely feeling the pace of the 4th long day in a row.  They are young, just turning 7 or not quite 7, and I think 7:45 to 4:15 is a really, really long day for them.  I stayed to help this morning (herding kids, cutting off behavior issues, stringing beads, supervising lines etc) and we did opening ceremonies, games, nature, fishing, archery and skills before lunch.  Koda's personality is so strong.  It was actually very eye opening to see him interact with this large group (14 kids) over the last few days.  He's gotten in trouble at least once a day and he is definitely one of the more physical of the kids.  He is quick to cop an attitude and get in a snit, but he's also confident and friendly and gets along really well with the kids.  He seems to be doing extremely well socially.  After lunch today, the fire truck came to spray their hoses and the kids went wild running in the water and havi

Yesterday when I was bringing my six year old son and his buddy home from camp, the little friend said "Did you know my mommy grew up in your house?"  I knew this fact, but my son did not.  I went to elementary and high school with the little boys mom who, indeed, did live here where we live now.  We were friends. Today she is my brother in law's neighbor and my son and hers play often together and are at in the same cub scout den.  Wouldn't it have been strange, all those years ago, if we knew, as we were sitting in the fourth grade, that one day we would be mommies of little boys born just three weeks apart and that I would be living in her house and she would be bringing her son there to play?  Got me thinking about how things come together like that.  Strange but very cool! 

Today I took Dakota for his first summer camp experience.  He is a Wolf Cub Scout at the Four Rivers District Scout Camp this week and he was very excited.  I did orientation on Sunday so I knew basically what to expect.  What wasn't expected, however, was the rain that was steadily coming down when we arrived.  We made the best of it and I spent the first two hours as an aide helping Koda's den and taking some pictures.  We had 13 boys in our den, but besides the leader, we also had four adults helping.  Our first station was the bb guns and I could tell from the look on Dakota's face that he wasn't sure what to make of this.  He's been told over and over here...NO GUNS!  No gun games.  No pretend guns.  And here I am standing beside him as he gets the safety precautions told to him by the station leader.  He looked incredibly young sitting there, with his camo hat and gold shirt, just like the 400 other boys and some girls there.  After the talk, he got to shoot t

Today was our last game for Dakota's 5-6 Phillies.  They had come such a long way and during the last bat today, not one of them had to use the T.  Watching them grow and change over just the few short months that we had them, only seeing them twice a week, was inspiring.  They all grew up alot....most of them five and just a few six.  Some of them came to us not even knowing how to hold a bat or put on a glove.  All of them left as confident little ball players capable of making a play to the best of their ability.  Some of them had talent, some did not.  Some of them were high energy.  Some were low key.  Some lacked focus.  We had few tears, however, and no quitters.  All ten kids came to just about every game and they did as they were told and left with happy faces. Watching them concentrate so hard to connect with the ball was priceless and seeing them shine when they hit it or made a big play....that I won't soon forget.  In a few years, as we gather for the team huddle,

Summer is my least favorite of the seasons.  I am a self proclaimed "heat hater" and I thrive on structure and routine, which summer does not have at all.  I find myself unsatisfied.....  What are we going to do that I, personally, am looking forward to?  My guys are going to a Nationals/Orioles game for Father's Day and they are so excited.  I am setting up for Koda's cub scout camp and going to orientation.  Not that I want to go to the game, but I want to be excited.  Next week Koda has camp all week and I have all week at home without him, but no plans of my own.  The following weekend the older son and husband are going on their yearly "man's weekend".  Again, they are so excited!  The little guy and I will be home and he has lego fun, an O's game and Port Discovery.  Again, he is very excited.  I am not.  My sister in law and I are going to lunch.....I love her and I am happy to be in her company....but not really an event (don't misunderst

For the last few days my little man has been really good company.  We've had alot of conversations and he's just been more mellow than usual.  Today we were at the house together, did our work on the deck and then we all four had dinner together.  After dinner Dakota and I dropped off Brian David at Joe Cannon Stadium in Hanover and he and I headed over to Arundel Mills to do some shopping.  We walked together, talking and browsing in the stores.  There was no fussing over what he could and couldn't have.  We got some pretzels, picked up a few things here and there and then I let him play in the Lego Store until Bri called and it was time to pick him up.  The boys and I went to ShopRite to get things that Bri needed for football camp tomorrow and then we all came home.  Dakota put together his new mini Lego kits, Brian made a pizza and did some of his summer reading and I watered the garden and got the bird feeders together.  It was really nice not to have to deal with the

It was another cool, beautiful day again today and I started it out on the swing enjoying a few quiet minutes before the rush of the day.  We had a meeting with our new co-op members at church at 10 and I was feeling especially blessed that Pastor Mike is the new leader there.  He is the most genuine, kind man I think I have ever met and he has a great southern accent as well.  I really love him.  Afterward Dakota and I went home to pick up Brian David and his friend Ronnie and we all met friends at the bowling alley.  My friend Mindie has five kids and one on the way, but every time I see her she's so calm!  The kids are all adorable and Dakota enjoyed having friends to bowl with.  (The teens did NOT bowl with the little kids lol.  They bowled on their own lane.)  Our "free" games of bowling ended up costing me $40 with lunch, drinks and shoe rentals, but the kids, both young and teen, had a great time.  I had a little time to work up the new co-op schedule this afternoo

Today started our Summer Fun weekly activities.  It was a little more loosely planned than I had anticipated, but we had a good day anyway.  Dakota had a friend over for awhile so we played our game of the day, croquet, with him.  The boys absolutely loved it and they played outside for at least an hour, whacking the ball with their mallets and trying so hard to get them through the little wickets!  After lunch our friends went home and we did four pages in our summer bridge workbook, which is colorful and different from what we normally do and therefore "fun" work, according to Dakota.  Then we did a Father's Day craft...an easy heart picture frame.  Fathers is supposed to be our theme for this week, but that's all the theme work we actually got in.  Afterward Dakota discovered he could do a 100 piece puzzle all by himself and he was so proud!  He and I had dinner together since Dad and Brian had football practice and then we took our novel, a new concept for Dakota,

Today we had a nice family Sunday.  Dakota went to his last Sunday School class for the year and then I took him to spend our Toys R Us rewards bucks.  He chose a Power Rangers Samurai sword and played with it all day long.  The three guys played some video games while I worked and then we had crabs together with Keri and we all went in the livingroom to watch our favorite show, Wipeout.  Everyone got along well and we enjoyed each other's company.  A dessert of brownies and ice cream and a night cap of Planet's Funniest Animals and we all called it a night.  Tomorrow starts our first week of Summer Fun themes and Dakota seems excited about it.

Baseball has been going very well this year.  When you have a strong willed, emotional son, however, you just never know.  Tonight all started well.  Dakota was easily catching pop up balls I was throwing him, an improvement over moving out of the way, which he did until this very night.  He warmed up with the kids and was excited to start the game.  This was a make up game from a rain out late in May and it looked as though we may not get it all in tonight either.  We started with only five players and Dakota had anticipated batting all day because it was his turn to bat last and "hit the homerun".  (The last batter in the tball line up gets to run all the basis and we rotate the kids so everyone gets a turn).  Just before Dakota got his turn to bat, however, another player showed up, so he wasn't last and he was disappointed.  "Next inning", I told him.  The next inning the same thing happened....he was actually at the plate and another player showed up....no

As this homeschool year came to a close, Dakota was wondering how he would know when he was no longer a kindergartener and was officially a first grader.  We decided to have a celebration and called a few close friends to come to our house for a playdate where we would celebrate Dakota's graduation, as well as the graduation of all the children present from the places they were in their young lives to the places they would be going.  Four families arrived at 10am and the ten children couldn't have been better behaved.  They played in the bounce house, played blocks, tag, make believe and played in the hose.  We parents got to chat and relax, which is always welcome, especially for homeschool moms who have their kids 24/7.  Most of the older children were girls and Casanova Dakota was happy to let them fuss over him and cater to him and he, in turn, played the macho male who strutted his stuff and grinned sheepishly when we caught him in action.  Each child received a certificat

Yesterday my husband and two sons went to Downs Park to wander around, look out over the water, hunt for wildlife and walk some trails.  We didn't know that their summer concert series started yesterday, but we decided to grab our coolers and chairs out of the car and hang out to watch the Navy band play contemporary tunes.  It was a wonderfully cool evening the the band was surprisingly good, engaging the audience and playing music that my teenage son listens too, which won him over quickly.  I loved spending the evening this way and I think that we will make it a Sunday evening tradition this summer. 

Today was my oldest son's first football 7 on 7 tournament as a senior.  7 on 7 is a passing league, no equipment and no tackling.  I couldn't help but think today as I watched him, about the years before when he was starting out playing football at just six years old and 42lbs, the years he quarterbacked, confident and sure as he led his team or the year his 13U team won the AA County Championships and he leaped into a friends embrace with a smile a mile wide.  He was so small then and now, even though he surely isn't a giant, he is strong and lean and has a gift for reading the quarterback and knowing where the ball will go.  This will definitely be a bittersweet year for me.  Over the past twelve years, nine of them coached by his father including this one, I have watched him beat the odds, almost always the smallest kid out there, but definitely not the least talented.  He has always had to play twice as well and work twice as hard even to be noticed.  When you are 5ft

Today my older son, eighteen now, but always a bit young for his age, really wanted to go to the Oriole game.  All his friends were busy and the girl he wanted to go had a dad who was saying "no way".  So my son offers to take his little brother.....the same little brother that he can't be in a room with for ten minutes lately without bickering.  Little brother is ecstatic and begs to go.  Big brother says "I'm an adult now.  I can handle it."  What's a mom to do?  I gave it some good, hard thought.....then called Dad to get his take.  He agrees it's a good bonding experience so I say okay and off they went.  So now, in my very, very quiet house, I am sitting and hoping that they really do bond tonight, that my older son will be mature enough to handle any outbursts without caving to his little brother's level.  I am praying that little brother is feeling so proud and priveliged that he is a little angel......that's really a stretch, but one

I have been avoiding this site because I wanted to write all about my granddaughter's birth, but I just don't have the time, so one day I will, but for now, I'm getting back on task with daily thoughts and homeschooling/summer fun ideas.  Yesterday was a gorgeous, breezy late spring day that came after a week of high humidity and heat indices over 100.  I let Dakota do his thing in the morning and then we had lunch on the deck and broke out our summer bridging book, some reading books and his journal.  We chatted, worked, read and he played for hours out there, enjoying the afternoon.  I freecycled a single person mini trampoline that is now in his play area and in between working he would stop, run over to it, and jump about 15 to 20 times.  He loves getting out his energy that way.  What a find!  After a simple dinner of open faced roast beef and french fries for us and pbj and pudding for him, Daddy and MomMom joined us and we used our Groupon for 2 free movie tickets an