The joy of James

A couple of days ago James was playing catch with an old baseball at Patrick and Tommy's baseball game when the ball caught him in the nose. It left a mark and a few tears were shed but that was it. Tonight as we were leaving our city's baseball tournament, James said I can see my injury. I told him don't worry in a few days it will go away. He said "Really, I kind of like it?" I said "are the girls asking you what happened?" He said "No more the boys. I tell them we were playing a family game of baseball and I went up against the fence to make a catch. Or I change it up and tell them I made a diving stop on the cement". Smart kid. I love him!

The crazy time of year has arrived

Tis the season to balance school, sports and everything in between. John is still on the travel team which includes tournaments. I was lucky enough to use the loop hole in the rec league rules to keep James in coach pitch baseball for one more year. I moved Tommy up to the same league as Patrick and James - boom life is easier - at least for this year. Then the date came out for tryouts for the rec league tournament team. Not only did Patrick want to try out but James did too! This is the kid who I had to talk into playing again this season! Well they both made the team so it is going to be a baseball filled Summer. I am excited for James and Patrick - they will get more time of playing the game and improve their skills. I would have had Tommy try out but this is his first year in the 7-8 year old league and I think we need to give him a year to get seasoned at this level. Next week the OAA tests are being given at school. John and James' class have been preparing for the last two weeks. John has come home with work packets to help prepare. He brought home the science one which was for extra credit - but the mom in me was like yes you are doing it. He didn't bring home a science book so we could use that as reference to make it easier - so it was a challenge. Thank goodness I can use the internet to look up definitions of things I do not remember. I think once these tests are over the kids will be on easy street as far as school work goes. James passed his Reading OAA in the Fall and in Ohio the law is you must pass this test to advance to 4th grade. So hopefully we will see an improvement from the Fall! Some interesting observations made by Matt and myself this week. I always thought Patrick was the instigator but it turns out Tommy might be following in his footsteps. I observed yesterday Tommy calling Patrick a girl and when Patrick denied being a girl then Tommy went for his round stuffed football toy known as Baby Skin It and called that a girl. Patrick obviously saw through his ways as I'm sure he has tried this game before and was not rattled. Then Matt told me this morning how Tommy told James how he looked like Patrick. I'm sure that got to James just a little bit - but of course he denied looking like Patrick. I am going to have to keep an eye on that kid!

A look at the future?

Let me start off by saying since the boys have been back in school I have been volunteering with the PTA and in James' class that it feels like I went out and got a part time job. The kids are doing fantastic in school. Tommy had no problems adjusting to all day kindergarten. The only hard adjustment was on my end at homework. It always hectic to make sure they get the attention they need even if they don't want it. So now why I am here. To share a story I can not believe I am even going to tell. On Friday at lunch I think it was Matt noticed someone wrote in pencil on the kitchen wall by where John and James sit. By John's seat it was J K and by James seat it was J J K. The writing was faint but still noticeable. Of course no one knew who wrote it so the chess match then began after he had James erase the writing. Matt would go back and forth with the boys together and individually. No one would admit to it or "remembered" doing it. At one point the boys were upstairs and we heard Tommy say "Ok let's get our story straight". What story?? Either you wrote on the wall or you didn't. Tommy even played spy at the top of the stairs to let the other boys know what was going on downstairs. He has to work on being more quiet in the future if he wants to get away with it. They eventually came back down. John was in tears and said he guesses he did it even though he didn't remember doing it. Everyone seemed ok with this plan except Matt and I. At one point when John was alone with us I assured him I did not think he did it. No one ever fessed up to it so they all were punished with no Xbox. I hope this isn't the sign of what is to come when they are older.

Summer Days

The boys had a successful school year! Lots of A's on the report cards so this summer we will do our best to not lose what they learned! Baseball season has been good but rain is wreaking havoc on the schedule. I hope they get to make up some of the games but I can see the younger boys having the games not made up unfortunately. Next weekend we will travel to Cincinnati for a tournament for John's team. I am hoping all will go smoothly with the hotel, the younger kids being entertained and getting to church. Yesterday we were headed to the library Tim McGraw's song "Next 30 Years" was on the radio. John was saying "Wow I am going to be 40!" They then ask how old I will be and of course Matt. Patrick then asks how old will he be in 10 years. I said 16. Patrick moaned in disappointment. Tommy says that is cool you will get to drive! I said we will see you need to pay for car insurance have a car etc. To that John replies - I don't want to drive. I will just ride RTA my whole life. Oh that is too funny!! Time to go entertain and keep the boys busy!

Baseball Season is here!

Yes here it is Baseball Season where I run 4 kids on 3 teams to practice. John's practices have been going on since mid February so it's no big deal. The only crazy night we have is on Tuesday when they all practice. Luckily the start/end times are spread out enough that I have my sanity by the end of the night. Tommy is doing FANTASTIC! He has always been drawn to the Boston Red Sox and Big Papi so as luck would have it his team is the Red Sox. I am very impressed with his hitting and his accurate throws. We still need to work on catching the ball. Oh and his teammates need to pay attention too lol! Patrick and James are on the same team. Patrick technically should be in Tommy's league but he played enough games with James when they were short players I moved him up. I haven't had a chance to sit and watch a whole practice for their team yet so I can't say how they are doing. I worry for James not to be afraid of the ball and not to get hurt when playing. They are very happy to be in the manly man ranks by wearing athletic supporters this year. The coach suggested the players wear them and I figured it couldn't hurt. So this leads me back to a couple of years ago when I was looking for a cup for John. I had everyone with me and Patrick wanted to know why we were at Dick's Sporting Goods. I called it a penis protector as I knew he would understand what I meant because I didn't really want to have a 30 minute conversation about the whole thing. A few months later we were back for something else and Patrick says "hey I remember this place - we got a penis protector for John". So fast forward to last night Patrick needed help getting all his pants up after using the bathroom. John walks by and says "It's so small" and Patrick said "Of course because I'm small". After further review I realized all the cups were the same size. Its just the briefs or sliding shorts are different sizes. We have John's schedule and we are waiting on the others. I am hoping there are too many conflicts that I can enjoy rooting my boys on!

5 YEARS!!

Can you believe in less than 2 weeks my little boy that changed my life forever is going to be 5??!! This is the little boy that influenced this blog, that forced me to become a stay at home mom, that is my buddy for life! I found him a new brand shirt this week at our local Thrift store that was the same brand clothing I used to buy for his older brothers when they were little. I dressed him in it today and took his picture. It reminded me of how I used to take his picture ALL the time in the first two years of his life and now its for holidays, birthdays or just when we are on a fun outing. I met with his preschool teacher yesterday. Nothing she said surprised me. After all I've spent everyday of his life with him and am proud of everything he has learned. It is nice to see that he maturing into an independent little boy. I will miss having him around next school year. For now I am enjoying every day we are together. Happy Birthday Tommy!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! It was truly a magical Christmas this year. My parents retired this past Fall and moved back to Ohio to be close to us. It was so nice to spend time with them and not to feel rushed into enjoying every moment we were together. The boys have enjoyed numerous sleep overs and I'm sure the run of the place! My parents keep asking them back so I guess they haven't wore out their welcome! Last Friday I called the Elementary school to register Tommy. I can't believe in a little over a month he will be 5! I will miss his company and his help. Some days, like when I have a lot of errands to run, I won't miss him. It turns into a negotiation or bribery. It definitely will be different in the day and chaotic after they get off the bus. I hope I figure out how to help them all and we can still have our relaxing time. Patrick went on a field trip today. I think I have been privileged enough to accompany the boys on every field trip (Matt got to a few) they have been on. Of course I would have loved to gone to Playhouse Square to see a play. I hope he remembers about what happened. Of course he was super excited. Up at the crack of dawn. He asked me what the date was and I said the 15th! He said "It's Martin Luther King's Birthday!" After a little back in forth he said "Now we get to sing 'We Three Kings'!" I said "His last name is King - he is not a King!. " Super busy weekend coming up. James has a basketball game then we are off to Tribe Fest. I hope we can meet some of the players that will be there. We have to be back to Willowick so we can attend our church's Anniversary Dinner. Matt and I will be honored with their Stewardship Award. They like to give it out to someone in each age group. Matt was fortunate enough that we were placed in the 30's age group. We are still laughing about it! Sunday John's basketball has a team mass at 9, the kids have religion class at 10 and then John's basketball game at 1pm. Thank goodness we have Monday off to chill out. I do need to come up with a plan to keep them out of trouble!