Cindy's Life as She Knows It

Our Baltimore Orioles have been a laughingstock around here for many years.  Back in the day, when Ken Singleton, Rick Dempsey and the boys from 33rd were together and we won the World Series in 1983, things were different.  Buy for the last fifteen years, Oriole wins have been few and far between.  This year, however, things have changed! The O's are back and in rare form!! Around here we like to say that the reason behind this miracle season is that our son is now working for them, but we know that this is just luck.  I guess all these wins can be attributed to some luck, but these young men and their trusty leader are taking the baseball world by storm and Baltimore is sitting up and taking notice.  There is Oriole Magic in the air.  People are wearing their black and orange.  The stadium is selling out and everywhere you go someone is asking "How 'bout them O's" :-) Today was our last regular season home game.  My older son had to work the game and my husban

Today has been a beautiful Monday.  The weather is cool, actually pretty crisp, and it's sunny and glorious outside.  I had done my planning last night and had lots to do in my book today.  We got started almost on time, but the day ended up winding and twisting like a dirt road in the country, peaceful and tranquil and full of beautiful visions along the way. Dakota started his morning work and enjoyed his independence.  This is such a pleasant change from the reluctant student who I had to beg to start every morning last year.  He does his journal, a language arts starter book, a page of cursive, a weather/temperature chart, watches the BrainPopJr app of the week on Monday and checks his Today's Special board for whatever is there for the day.  Today it was The First Day of Autumn, which occurred over the weekend. When he was through, we took our Awesome Autumn book out to the deck and sat on the swing to read it, finding out why the leaves are turning colors and talking ab

Twenty one years ago today I married my husband, my knight in shining armor.  He swept me off my feet, making sure there was room on his trusty steed for two very sweet little girls who thought he was a hero.  Down the road a way he had to attach a wagon to that steed to fit in two little boys, who also waited for him to ride in and save the day (by taking them to some fun place and playing catch ;-) Today, that knight is a little more gray (okay, alot more gray!) and this fair princess is more "fluffy" and "jiggly" than she used to be and those two little girls are grown women..  One of those little boys is darned near a grown man.  He is still playing catch with the littlest boy, who is definitely a knight in training!  Sir Brian is not only a Daddy Knight now, but a Poppy Knight and there is a new little girl with stars in her eyes when she looks at him. Brian, I know there have been some tough times.  I also know there have been some wonderful times.  That&#

Wednesday dawned bright and beautiful after a wet Tuesday.  We had a rough morning getting out of the house early and organized, but we made it and got to the church for the new year of our AAHE Cooperative just in time to open up and welcome everyone back.  It was so nice to catch up with old friends and get to know some new ones.  Our theme this year is Artists and Composers.  The teacher for the artist, Michelangelo, did a fun activity where the kids got to lay under their chairs and paint on the "ceiling".  They loved it and thought this was very cool.  The teacher for music did an introduction to instruments, letting the kids listen to different musical selections, showing them different instruments and then letting them have fun watching a Looney Tunes cartoon about the orchestra.  This was a very big hit! After co-op we met a friend and her daughters for lunch at McDonalds and then we all met another friend at the Airport Park to watch the planes come in and chat whi

Today was a rainy Tuesday here in Maryland.  We were supposed to go back to the Science Center, but staying at home had much more appeal.  I made it a fun day by letting Dakota stay in his pjs, reading under the blankets, watching a video on his health book instead of reading it and making chocolate chip cookies.  It was National Playdoh Day so at lunch time I set up his table in his room with a big sheet underneath, broke out all the playdoh tools and let him create for over an hour.  We did a floor puzzle on the solar system, painted a family tree using sponge painting for our history project coming up at the end of the week and really minimized all of the mundane tasks that we have to get in most days.  As always, there morning went much better than the afternoon, but we muddled through the laziness and  lack of focus that afternoons often bring. This evening everything was cancelled due to impending bad weather so we enjoyed a rare fall dinner with daddy and watched the Lorax tog

On Thursday after school we packed up our things, loaded the truck and went over to Spalding to drop Brian off at his football practice (where he is the Asst. Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator).  While we waited we had dinner at Friendly's with MomMom, filling up some time.  Around 7, Brian called, we picked him up and off we went for our Delaware Adventure.  Spalding's football team was playing a game in Lewes, DE on Friday night so we decided, as we often do, to make a mini vacation out of it.  We got in to our hotel, which, unfortunately, was nothing to write home about, around 9:45, got our stuff inside and went right to bed.  On Friday morning we were up early, had a continental breakfast at the hotel and headed to Rehoboth Beach. It's a small, quaint little beach community with a beautiful and peaceful beach and a small boardwalk with some restaurants, some typical souvenier shops and a few old standbys like Candy Kitchen and Dolles.  We spread our blanket and I sp

I have been trying for the past week to post and I couldn't get the site to cooperate.  I couldn't type in the boxes at all and it was frustrating, especially since my life just now changes as the wind blows, good and bad, hectic and calm, tumultuous and harmonious. On Tuesday of last week we had our first homeschool day at the Maryland Science Center.  I took my daughter, Keri, with us so there would be a set of hands available for both young ones.  Keri and Dakota went into the planetarium together and I knew that Dakota was really going to enjoy it this time, because we have been studying the stars and he has been very "into" how they form and learning about the constellations.  Natalie and I went upstairs to the Kids Room and spent a good bit of time in the Toddler Room, where it is blocked in and all the young moms are sitting on the floor, most of them chasing a toddler and pregnant with another, chatting about things young mothers chat about.  I felt wistful

I am a fall kind of person and nothing is better than a crisp autumn day, a nice long walk in the morning and schooling out on the deck.  Today I planned just that kind of day for my little son, granddaughter and I. We had a slow start, but after getting ready and getting a late breakfast we still decided to start our day with a long walk through the park.  The sky was an incredible blue and the temperature was just right.  We were out about an hour and then came back in to put Natalie in to nap and start our schoolwork.  We sat at the table and did our daily prep work, spelling, language arts.  We hadn't gotten to science for a few days so we spent some time reading and talking about stars to get a good understanding before we head to the planetarium tomorrow for our first Homeschool Day class at the Maryland Science Center.  We made a constellation box and some constellation cards to go with it.  We did a demonstration of the earth going around the sun and talked about why we hav

If you are following me here at Cindy's Life As She Know It, you know it's been a tough stretch for me.  I am usually upbeat and positive, but I have been struggling.  Yesterday I went to church and dropped my son off at Sunday School and then attended a Bible study class with my pastor and a small group of people.  I always forget how at peace I feel when I am there.  I am not as involved as I could be there, but they are welcoming, kind and loving and I always leave feeling better than when I arrived. After church my husband gave me money to get a new outfit for a crab feast we were going to..  I can't remember the last time we went to a function like this together and I wanted something I could feel attractive in.  I ended up finding a pair of white capris on clearance and then hit Dick's Sporting Goods for a really cute Raven's shirt.  It will serve me well through the season.  I hate wearing the boxy mens t shirts anymore.  I like the women's cut with the

I am having trouble in my life right now for numerous reasons, but I was thinking today that one of the things that is throwing me so off balance is the lack of consistency in the most important things in my life.  I used to know what was coming next, who was here now and who would be here later.  I knew how those that I hold closest felt, both about me and about life...or so I thought.  In the last few weeks, however, I just don't know about anything.  There have been major upheavals and I'm not sure what each day will bring.  Some days my son calls home, chats openly and shares his day.  Some days he doesn't contact me at all and if I try to talk to him he mumbles and pushes me away.  Some days he's home.  Some days he isn't.  The relationship with my husband is the same way too recently.  Good.  Bad.  Hot.  Cold.  Smooth.  Bumpy.  A promising tomorrow.  An empty future. This is all very confusing to a woman who lives her life for structure and routine.  I wake

Dakota and I had a few personal errands to run early this morning, but we found out that it was "Be Late For Something" day so we laughed about getting to work and then headed out on our errands.  We were fashionably late to start our lessons, but still had a great morning, doing all of our language arts, math and Spanish. We are way behind in our Story of the World lessons, but it is not a big deal.  We will get through it when we get through it.  We read the middle part of our Maps and Globes book and looked at our map and globe and talked about the difference.  Then I let him paint a large blue Earth with the promise that he could paint again in the afternoon to add the continents.  I was hoping this would negate our problems.   He is so focused in the morning and we get things done in record time...but then comes lunch break...and I never really get him back. We take an hour break at lunch and I know that I probably shouldn't give him that long because I am sure it&

So here we are, firmly into September, usually my all time favorite month, tied with October.  Clean slate.  New homeschool year.  Great fall colors.  Crisp temperatures (soon).  This year, however, I don't think I am liking September very much.  Anxiety, stress and depression are constantly chasing me down, but I am trying to stay one step ahead.  Schooling Dakota gives me a diversion and it was actually the best time of my day yesterday once I got myself focused and found all the materials I needed that were sitting right under my nose, right where I put them.  We didn't do anything wonderful or creative, but we did work consistently.  We didn't get it all in, but I didn't stress over that because, in the big scheme of things these days, that's little stress.  I am pleased that we have quickly fallen into a new morning pattern of doing Today's Special and then his "daily prep", which includes a daily short language arts exercise book activity, a dail

Today is Dakota's eighth birthday and on my children's birthdays, I spend alot of time reflecting on who they are now and remembering them through the years as they have grown up to this point. I remember Dakota's birth so clearly.  I had a scheduled C-section on a Friday evening.  We went to the hospital, waited a long time and then I got prepped to go into surgery.  My mother made her way into the room before I went in, which did not make me happy.  She is too nervous, too high maintenance and does not make me feel better about anything.  My husband was distracted.  I've never really figured out why other than it was football season and the opener for his youth team was the next day, but I guess that's enough.  My three older kids were excited...ready to welcome this little brother and get their mother who had spunk and energy back! They wheeled me in, right past the crowd of "spectators" that was my family.  Ugh.  My husband came into the room and t

Two posts today, the last day before homeschooling posts really take over (although I won't say that matters of the heart and life with my older three children won't play a part).  Today it's about My Wish, the song and the reality.  Over the last two years my son Brian has endured alot of heartache.  He is someone who gives his all...whether it's in sports, academics or affairs of the heart.  He loves passionately and fully.  Those things or people who are a recipient of that love are truly blessed. Brian's first relationship was wonderful...for a short time.  He was in love with love.  He met a girl just before going into Spalding that some friends introduced him to and they seemed well suited.  The transition into a new school was made easier because she was there and introduced him to all her friends.  As the months went by, however, she became manipulative and demanding.  He thought that was how relationships went and, being the kind soul that he is, he follo