Cindy's Life as She Knows It

I have had all four of my children on my mind lately.  Each one goes through trials and tribulations, success and triumphs, at different times and each one needs me in very different ways at these times, depending on the situation.  They each also need different things from me.  One needs me to make few demands.  Another needs me to push hard, even if it's pushing away at times, to succeed as an individual person.  Yet another needs me for guidance more often than the others and the fourth needs me for a multitude of things, all of which seem to be ever changing.  I try very hard to be what I feel they need.  They may get angry at me.  They may feel like I favor another because I didn't do the same thing in a similar situation.  They may feel like I interfere too much or don't get involved enough.  The truth of the matter is, it's a fine line to walk and a tough job 24/7.  What they need is always changing.  What they get, howe...

We did a quick 1/2 day trip today as a family to Chesapeake Beach Waterpark.  It's just a small waterpark with 2 slides and a lazy river, but we had fun relaxing on our innertubes, spending time together and keeping cool in the water.  It's nice to escape, even for a few hours, and it's always nice to spend a little time with my boys.

Today I had all three of my "daycampers" so we pulled out all the stops in our Olympic fun.  After some morning free time where they made bead creatures for me to iron they had breakfast and then did a fun Olympics booklet from www.enchantedlearning.com together then headed outside to have a friendly game of croquet.  When they came inside we got out our plain tshirts, acrylic paint and tp rolls and they had fun making Olympic shirts with the rings and London 2012 (done by me) on them to wear this afternoon for our craft store "field trip".   The shirts were super easy and they turned out great.  The kids couldn't stop saying "cool!" and I deemed it a success! Fun in the pool came next while I grabbed some quiet time to make up their Olympic medal board pieces for this afternoon then out to the picnic table where they enjoyed Go For the Gold Mac N Cheese and USA Brownies, hand decorated with icing and red, white and blue sugars and stars.  When we f...

Today the Orioles are back in town and my son went back to work.  He is loving his job as a tarp crew member and I am constantly reminded of how perfect this job is for my sports fanatic son. When he first started there he was a bit starstruck, texting and calling us often to tell us that this pitcher said hello or that he got to see Derek Jeter walk by.  Now, a few months later, he's firmly entrenched in the organization.  The pitchers in the bull pen know him by name, he can be seen at least for a few seconds each night on TV and we even got to see him get in on a team cheer in the bull pen after an especially well timed home run.  He name drops at dinner, telling us how this pitcher's wife is having a baby this week and what this player did during his high school years.  He has realized that these young men, some only a few years older than himself, are alot like him.  He still thinks they are special, but he also sees that they are human, with good days...

Last night my granddaughter came over to spend a few hours.  I like when I have her on the weekend evenings because I have more free time to enjoy her.  I rearranged her room yesterday so that I could fit her kitchen set in there and went through her toys to pack away alot of the "baby" toys for the next little one who comes along.  I brought her into her room when her momma dropped her off and she went right to her kitchen, pulling open all the doors and looking for the treasures.  I walked away and came back a few minutes later and peeked in her room and it was one of those moments parents and grandparents have every once in awhile to quietly observe and appreciate what God has given you.  There she was, soft and chubby, standing on sturdy little legs in lavender leggings and a feminine little summer top.  Her arms still have five rolls, but they are tanned...except for in the creases of the rolls...so when she reaches out you can see the stripes of dark ...

It's been a tough stretch of time here and I haven't been able to think clearly enough to do much between anxiety that has popped up and exhaustion from putting up our 15ft x 4ft Intex easy set pool alone (kids bailed and hubby hurt his back).  We've seen our fair share of aches and illnesses, with my husband being out of work for a week with a bad back, a doctor's visit for me because of anxiety, headaches etc and now a nice summer cold.  But enough!  I have decided today I am going to rest in my chair, catch up on paperwork, work on upcoming meetings and field trips and watch trashy tv :-).  My granddaughter has other things in mind, but I'm trying to convince her it's a lazy kind of day. Starting tomorrow we are going to be focusing on the summer Olympics, which kick off on July 27.  Tomorrow we are going to watch Comcast On Demand's lineup of 3 minute specials on London and the Olympics and I am going to print worksheets from wwwenchantedlearning.com f...

Today is day 11 of an extreme heat wave that has hit the Maryland area....actually many areas across the country.  We have seen above 100 degree temperatures, heat indexes up to 110 and no rain except for the terrible thunderstorm last Friday night that knocked out power to 500,000 people in the Maryland area and has had my husband working 16 hour days ever since. The boys and I have done okay, although we are getting pretty bored.  We have had easy dinners that didn't require the oven, kept the house dark and the doors closed tight.  We ordered a pool, but that won't be in til next week.  I know my older son is itching to get to college, but I've enjoyed having him here.  Him and I had crabs and the three of us watched Elf on Friday night and celebrated Christmas in July.  The little one and I have watch Journey 2 at least five times.  I've watched Something Borrowed, a few Ghost Hunters, alot of Golden Girls, a few Toddlers and Tiaras and other min...