Cindy's Life as She Knows It

Today my littlest granddaughter (so far!) turned one!  She is a wonderfully sweet little girl, full of giggles and smiles, who adores her mommy and who just started walking a few weeks ago.  She is the spitting image of her mom and a joy to everyone who knows her and she is the light in this Nana's eyes, along with her big sister. On September 30, 2013 we spent the day in labor and delivery with my daughter and son in law, hoping for a natural birth, but by evening we realized Rebecca was wedged up against my daughter's pelvic bone and was not coming down.  The started the prep for a c-section and one of the OR nurses happened to be a girl I went to school with.  As it was late and there wasn't too much going on, she allowed me to go down to the area just outside the operating room so I could be as close as possible without being IN there.  My daughter and my son in law disappeared behind the doors and I could see in the room, but only the doctor's heads. ...

Ah, the years of tweendom and teendom are upon us and I am not happy about it.  My Dakota can be so sweet and loving one minute and mean and dangerously angry the next.  He has always had a swagger and an attitude, but the older he gets, the more I am concerned for the next ten years here in our home.  I want so much for us to maintain a close and loving relationship, but days like today have me fearful of what his teen years may bring. Today started out as a typical Monday.  He doesn't want to get up.  He doesn't want to get dressed.  He doesn't want to start his schoolwork.  He yawns and mopes, complains and carries on.  Lately, he has begun to talk back, repeatedly speaking on top of me, yelling, stomping, being rude and vindictive.  This has been going on for several weeks and when I keep my composure and ask him to be quiet he simply cannot.  He can not be completely quiet.  He must make a comment, get the last word.  He...

I have been waiting all summer for the start of the Star Spangled Sailabration in downtown Baltimore to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812 and the writing of the Star Spangled Banner.  Today my daughter and I took the kids to Federal Hill for a picnic lunch and to hopefully catch a few of the tall ships coming in to the harbor to celebrate.  Though we only saw one ship and it wasn't terribly impressive, it was a gorgeous day and the kids had a great time playing with friends on the playground, in the grassy fields and looking out over the harbor at all the activity.  The vantage point from up there is breathtaking. Around 1:00, we packed up and headed to the Science Center across the street.  My friend, Kelly and I took the 5 older kids to the IMAX theater to see Star Spangled Banner on the big screen while my daughter let the little ones play at the dinosaur exhibit.  The IMAX movie was only twenty minutes long, but so well done and very power...

This is Dakota, my "baby", holding my baby granddaughter, Becca.  Today was his tenth birthday.  I can't believe he's so big!  Let me tell you a little about my boy....he is a tough guy with a tender heart.  Dakota has a quick temper and a smart mouth, but a passion for children and for those he loves.  He is close to his family and loves sports, video games and his nieces.  His love right now is Minecraft and he and I are going to be redoing his room in that theme in the coming weeks. Today we invited our dearest friends, the Webers, to help us celerate.  Tyler, Evan and Zachary came by at ten and we all went to Shadowland, a great laser tag venue in Columbia, MD, where we met three more families and all eight kids played two rounds of laser tag.  They were loud, excited and sweaty! After laser tag, two of the families joined the Webers and Dakota and I at Pizza Hut.  The kids had a blast together, talking and eating, while the m...

This year Baltimore experienced the "summer that wasn't" and I couldn't have been happier.  Cool temperatures and low humidity meant coffee on the deck in the morning and Thursday we got to spend the entire school day out there working.  It was gorgeous.  Labor Day weekend came and now we are stifling.  It's going to be 95 and humid, meaning the kids can't play outside, the dogs can't be outside for more than a minute and my house will heat up quickly if we open and close the doors too often or even keep the blinds open too much.  Looks like sandwiches for lunch and a late dinner. Today is the last day my youngest will be nine.  We had a party for him Sunday night, complete with Minecraft inspired food items.  He got his own laptop, which really opens up schooling for us.  Currently he has done his morning work and finished his reading assignment.  He is now typing away, doing a book report, and loving his freedom.  He is testing out i...