Baseball over..back to school supplies being bought

Wow we just returned from Target and they took down their big Summer pictures hanging from the ceiling and now its just pencils showing you which way to the school supplies. What a fun and exciting summer we are having. All the boys have had successful baseball seasons. John had the 2nd highest batting average on his team so he earned a ticket to the league's All Star game at Classic Park. So he was able to warm up with the All Stars, get introduced and receive a very nice medal and listen to the National Anthem. Then he and Matt were off to Mayfield to compete with his team in a tournament which they earned the #1 seed. Unfortunately they lost the game. Luckily he was able to play in the division All Star game the following night. James and Patrick did a lot of growing with their baseball skills. James continues to hit the ball really well. He still needs to get over his fear of the ball but he sure enjoyed being the catcher when he had the opportunity. Patrick played in a coach pitch for 5-6 year olds but was able to play in a lot of games with James' team. He did well enough that I will move him up next year. I can't wait to see Tommy on the ball field next year! It has been such a hot summer I feel like I haven't taken the kids many places. The one day we did go to the zoo but with the heat they were not all that enthused. I was able to obtain a membership to the Cleveland Science Center on Living Social but we have not been there yet. I am thinking next week we need to get there. I can't believe it is already the middle of July!! On Sunday I started buying school supplies for the boys. I actually think I am almost finished. As much as I can't wait for Tommy to be in school full time buying for 3 kids is a little crazy!! I can't imagine looking at 4 lists!! My parents moved back to Ohio this week. My Dad still has a little over 3 months before his retirement but Mom is here to get everything settled. It is just so weird having them close again. I'm sure in a couple weeks it will feel like they never left! I know the boys are going to love it! James already has his eye on Halloween and what costume he wants and after looking at the toys at Target he has his other eye on Christmas!! Oh boy!

Let the fun begin!

Since the beginning of the month it has been crazy in this house. We have 3 kids playing on 3 different baseball teams and as of last week one kid playing two sports. Last Saturday we had a full day of practices to attend but the rain canceled them so we had some unexpected down time. This Saturday we have more of the same with a Soccer picture session to kick things off. My head is spinning from trying to remember who has what. Thank goodness for my calendar online and on our fridge. I am most especially thankful that Tommy isn't begging to play baseball this year. Next year will be soon enough. I think if it works out we will always have 3 baseball teams and after this year no more soccer which eliminates the craziness of 2 sports at the same time.

Great Memories

Last week James had his 1st grade musical performance. They sung a variety of Disney songs. It was a great mix of the new ones with the old classics like the original Mickey Mouse song. The kids did fantastic. Last night on the way to John's practice James mentioned he was sad that his grandparents couldn't see him perform. I explained that I video taped it so we could show my parents the video when we see them at Easter. He said yes but I also mean Grandma and Grandpa Keough. He continued "I think they were watching me from Heaven!" I told him indeed they were. They are watching over all the boys daily and I'm sure they were bragging to their other friends in heaven how proud they are of all of them. I'm so glad James keeps their memory alive. I hope it will help Patrick and Tommy as they get older to remember them too.

The Potty Stories

Since Tommy has become potty trained it has led to all sorts of new discoveries and curiosities. On Friday night after John played baseball on an Indoor League I get everyone loaded into the car and Tommy announces he has to go pee. Instead of lugging everyone back into the building I pull out my trusty "pee in the bottle" bottle for these such emergencies. Tommy takes care of business and then James from the back seat says "hey, let me see your pee" so Tommy proudly shows him the bottle! Every morning I encourage Tommy to go to the bathroom immediately after he wakes up. On Saturday Patrick says "Do you hear what I hear?" I said "No". He said it's Tommy peeing! Yippe! Today coming home from a park program for Tommy he says "Do you know that Army guys sometimes pee in the woods?" I said "I had no idea who told you this?" He replied "James". Great information to pass along to your brother I suppose! Oh yes I forgot to mention James is now showering instead of taking a bath which is a real nice change of pace for me. You definitely know when he cleans his privates. He giggles like a little school girl. Out of control!

No more babies in my house!

It looks like it is official. The day I have been waiting for to announce to the world. Tommy is finally potty trained. A couple weeks ago I hated life as a stay at home mom. I was at my wits end. Tommy was stubborn and I was trying to be just as stubborn. I was making him sit on the potty until he would use it. A couple times he said he was finished only later to go in his pants. Finally on Friday, November 18th, I made him wear underwear. By his reaction I knew it was the right move. He had no more excuses. He had to use the potty. He has had a few accidents here and there but more times then not he uses the potty! In fact today he had to go just before it was time for us to pick up Patrick. He would not get off the potty until he went. Luckily, I know another mother in the class who could bring Patrick home otherwise we would have been in a pickle. I am extremely happy that my diaper and wipes buying days are over. I will miss getting the bonus fuel perks from Giant Eagle. We haven't officially ditched rather burnt the diaper pail but I see that happening in the near future. Next week Patrick turns 5! It is so hard to believe! He will be star student for his class in a couple weeks so I had to look back at pictures from the past to print. It seemed like an eternity since he was a baby. It made me look at all the kids as babies. We also watched some videos of when they were little. Watching the videos of the babies made James ask for another one. He asked me yesterday how babies come out of my belly. I said it was magic. He then asked if the baby was cut out. I decided to go with it because its true even if it didn't happen to me. He then responded he was glad he was a man. Boy he doesn't know the half of it! LOL! The kids are still driving me absolutely bonkers at times. Don't they know they are supposed to be good at all times because Santa's elves are watching?? Maybe we should get an elf!

Dreams and Aspirations

Everyone has dreams whether they are realistic or not. I love that my kids have dreams and I have dreams for them. For example, I aspire that one day we will be a diaper free house! I'm truly hoping this will happen sooner than later. I am making Tommy aware of his choices but he chooses to be stubborn. So my dream is not yet a reality. Matt told me last week that John is still dreaming about becoming a Major League Baseball player. I love this dream. I hope he can hold on to it for a while. John was telling Matt "I know I am going to North High School, but it would be really cool if I could play baseball at St. Ed's." Matt was laughing because he was wondering where did the talk of St. Ed's came from. We only talk about two high schools in our house, Lake Catholic and Eastlake North. Matt was saying "What happened to Lake Catholic?" While I was saying "What part of 'he is going to North High doesn't he get??" as I don't even want to know what that tuition bill looks like. A month from today Patrick will be turning 5 years old. This really seems hard to believe. He is so independent and happy go lucky that I can't wait to see how he continues to grow. I think back at when he was one years old throwing a tantrum at 5:30 in the morning because he was the one not to get the waffle out of the freezer and he didn't get lifted up to put it in the toaster. So I asked Patrick what he wanted for his birthday and Christmas. His reply was "Wii games, Wii games, Wii games" with a giggle. I said yes I know that but realistically you will not get to play on the Wii 24/7. I could not get a straight answer out of him. So hopefully I choose wisely. I need to figure this one out soon. Yes I have the Wii games. James dreams are changing daily. I thought I had him all figured out for Christmas and now he saw a new catalog and now that is all out of the window. Too bad I already made a few purchases. Yesterday he rode a bicycle without training wheels for the first time. It does not surprise me he did this. He has such great balance on his scooter that I knew he would master this accomplishment. Matt was the one that got to witness this accomplishment. I'm so happy he did. James is also dreaming about going hunting for turkey. I'm guessing he chose to hunt for turkey because it is a small animal compared to a deer or bear. He will have to wait until he gets a little older but for now he can dream about it.

Oh my time has gone by!

Needless to say it has been a busy Summer and Fall with the boys. Also with Facebook and Twitter now available it is easier to type a quick thought or a funny story. John, James and Patrick are doing well in school. James is a lot more sociable in school than he was in last year. Patrick handled the transition to a new school that offered a Pre-K that was perfect for our schedule very well. John continues to excel and even has received an award for showing Respect for other people. As you can see Tommy's name should be included in this bragging about my kid in school thought however this child is stubborn beyond reason. I have taken away Wii, watching Wii, the computer - everything I can think of to not give him an excuse as to not use the potty. He is just refusing. People have bribed the child with money and still nothing. I have decided that James and Tommy will take care of me in my old age. After all they both dragged their feet at potty training so it is only fair! To top it off he is outgrowing naps so this makes what do I do with him while Patrick takes advantage of his Wii time. Right now he is in his bedroom playing. I guess this is the way it will have to be. Maybe this will help him get the message. I'm ready to send him away to potty training camp. If only there was such a thing!

As I'm typing I'm uploading pictures to Shutterfly to make the year in review book. I usually make it around now so I have a few extra copies made for Christmas presents and then I make one up after Christmas to include Patrick's birthday! It will be funny if I go way over 20 pages because we really haven't taken a lot of pictures. Hopefully the cell phone pictures turn out well in the book. Crazy technology. I should look to see if they have an app that uploads the pics from your cell phone. Man would that save time!

I would like to dedicate this post to my mother who misses these fun blog entries!