©MaryMcgintyPhotography

©MaryMcGintyPhotography

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All photos on this blog are the property of Mary McGinty Photography (unless noted otherwise) photos may not be used or copied without my permission




Aug 30, 2009

Are you kidding me?





My poor TJ has been fighting Pneumonia for some
time now. Thursday he had a follow-up
with his Pediatrician. His lungs were clear,
but he still had that cough-til-you-gag, so
he was prescribed an additional 10 days of antibiotics.
If he still was coughing in a week, Steroids would be
the next course of action.
Friday he felt good, went to school, but still coughing.
By dinner time he was complaining of chest pain and
I could hear a little wheezing in his chest. I had the
doctor paged and she said bring him to the ER.
The triage nurse took one look at him, got a wheel chair
and took him back.
He was immediately given a breathing treatment and Steroids.
A chest x-ray confirmed Pneumonia in the Right Lung
An hour later TJ was complaining that he was starving
and when could he eat? My teenager was feeling better!
He was discharged with a new antibiotic, a new in-haler
and a 2 day dose of Prednisone. He is to have have a follow-up
with his doc and a repeat x-ray in a week.

TJ missed his travel baseball party on Saturday, he was
not feeling 100%. He rode his bike 1/2 way to Burger King and had a coughing fit.
This week we will mix things up a little. School
will be on a day to day bases. Private pitching lessons
cancelled. Tue and Thur baseball practice cancelled
until further notice.
When little kids get sick they lay on the couch, whereas
teenagers are able to go on with their day.
An old mom can learn something new...

TJ went on with his life for the last 3 weeks, he went to school,
practice and played in 2 games. He beat himself up
because he didn't have stellar games or practices.
HELLO! the kid is sick
Mom is now on the ball and will treat him as a little boy with
Pneumonia.

Aug 29, 2009

1 st day of kindergarten

The foggy first day


Karrick had his first day of Kindergarten on
Wednesday. He loved it. This week was half days
and starting Monday he'll have all day Kindergarten.

After the 1st day each child was assessed individually.
When it was Karricks turn to go in the classroom,
I heard him say, as the door was closing
"I'm just letting you know, I can't read yet"

I couldn't make out what they were saying,
but I could hear Mrs. Misar laughing

When they were done Karrick showed me
his classroom...every last
detail including the
"bathroom right in the classroom, mom"

Mrs. Misar said Karrick did very well
(they don't share until conferences)
but, she did say:
"he is a very funny child...I love funny kids"

Well, then she is going to love Karrick!
he has that innocent little kid honesty
that just cracks everyone up

He had homework the first day
when I told him, his reply
as he made a face and threw his arms up in disgust

"come on, I gotta do homework, what the..."
(he knows better then to add the "HELL" on the end)

and proceeded to do his "all about me bag"
to share with the class

He was clearly mimicking his older brothers
response to years of homework,
but he loved it




Aug 25, 2009

Karma is a bitch


We have been so busy this summer that our beautiful deck
has been neglected. We had 4 very large hornet nests
2 under the hot tub lid flap and 2 under the deck
railing. I took pride using the Hotshot
wasp spray. You could stand back 5 feet and just blast the little suckers.
It took a couple days and a couple shots, but the nests were gone!

Today I decided to cut our 12 inch long grass in the back
yard (another neglected area)
Something pinched my leg and I reached down to
pull out the little thorn that pricked me.

HELLO...no thorn

A wasp stuck in my leg and all of the sudden
I was being stung under my arm.
Much to my horror, I was covered in hornets.
They were stuck on my shirt, I started screaming
because they stung my t-shirt so the stingers were
trapper in the fibers.


I had no choice but to run screaming to the house
discarding articles of clothing along the way

I ran up to my room half naked
and of course Cal had a buddy over.

Tj heard me scream and ran upstairs,
no 13 year old needs to see their mama naked
(another dollar added to the therapy fund)


Welts, I have welts and I hurt
and anyone who claims Hornet stings don't hurt can kiss my ass.
Did you know the Hornet will alert the entire nest
and they will all go into attack mode.

  • Hornets are more painful than a typical wasp's due to a large amount (5%) of acetylcholine.
As in all stinging wasps, hornets can sting multiple times—they do not die after stinging a human,

Those little fuckers got me and got me good.
My lawn mower sits all alone at the end of path of
freshly cut grass...where it will stay

My clothes are where they will remain...on the deck

I know those little buggers are still alive in my
discarded clothing....just waiting

Aug 24, 2009

Another Wisconsin weekend



We headed up to the lake for another
weekend.

My poor TJ has been fighting something for
2 weeks. Friday morning as we were ready to
leave, something just didn't seem right with TJ.
I called the doc and she said bring him right in.

Pneumonia!

He was given a strong antibiotic and an
inhaler. We decided to go up to the lake anyway.

Some R and R in the sun on the lake is as
good as any place to recuperate


This is my art work and I'm kinda proud of it



My poor sick little trooper


TJ did very well, he felt better except for the awful
coughing fits
OR
unless you asked him to do something, then it was

"but mom, I have pneumonia"

For 14 years I have passed this sign and I ask
"how can 1 person do it all?"



Here's my Tim...bringing sexy back
(he's only allowed to wear wife beaters in the back hills of Wis)
Hard to believe we had to forcibly put Karrick in the kayak





We get the morning sun and in the afternoon the other side gets it
So pretty

We had some nice hot sunny weather, we
expected 70's and rain, but
I hear Chicago and Michigan
had the less than perfect temps

I officially feel like I had a summer. We crammed
a whole lotta summer in the 3 weeks
we had after baseball


TJ will make his 1 hour of school tomorrow, he is
still coughing, but that will linger on for a while.

He is also excited to bring Karrick to his 1 hour open
house in his Kindergarten classroom.

I have to work because I took Wed and Thur off to
bring Karrick to his first 2 days of class which are
only 1/2 days. Next week he will go all day

With a blink of an eye TJ is a trusted
teen bringing his little brother to meet his first
elementary school teacher

(and Emma went to sleep away camp)

I swear this was yesterday
TJ-3, Emma -2



Aug 20, 2009

Happy Birthday TJ!



13 years ago on August 17, 1996 at exactly 7:11 pm
a beautiful baby boy came into this world.
The 1 st boy on both sides after 7 nieces

TJ McGinty 8 lbs 2 oz
He came out smiling and has been smiling ever
since.

An extremely easy baby, that once my
best friend Erin asked me when TJ was 5 months old
"do you think something is wrong with him, he's
always happy"

TJ has always been a very sweet child and very
protective of his brothers. at age 2 when
Cal came into the world, TJ would guard his bassinet
and not let anyone get close.
Today he and Karrick share a special bond that is apparent
through out my blog.

9 months pregnant and all baby

TJ 30 min old

This framed photo has been on TJ's dresser since birth.
My delivery was so easy that the nurses jokes about
me not even breaking a sweat

6 weeks old


TJ in Maui at 9 months old
(Betty and Chris' wedding)

At age 3 TJ went 200 ft up para sailing

I still remember at age 3 TJ's teacher at The Academy of Music and Movement
called me to say an older boy that had some problems
socializing was being removed from the 5 year old class
and put in with the 3 year olds. This shy little boy in tears
walked in and TJ went up to him, put his
arm around the boys shoulders and said
"stay with me, I'll take care of you"


Age 5 he discovered baseball and
has been playing ever since



Today TJ is a sweet, nice and honest
young man. He still wears that infectious smile
that lights up the room.
While he has many friends and a goofy side, he is mature
beyond his years and
prefers the company of adults.


I can't believe you are a teenager, a 5' 7" teenager!
seems like yesterday...

We are so proud of you! Stay sweet and true to yourself
and continue being the nice kid that you are and
always have been.





HAPPY 13 TH BIRTHDAY

Love,
Mom, Dad, Callahan and Karrick



Aug 19, 2009

Kayaking


I am so behind in blogging. Oh well, we can do only
what we can do. This past weekend we finally made
it back up to the lake. It was a rare treat
that we all drove together....we always take 2 cars.
Callahan was shooting the Sears Christmas catalog
Thur and Friday. Friday morning we all loaded into
the loaded van and headed downtown. Tim works in
the financial district so he hopped a cab to the studio,
caught a glimpse of Cal in action and away we went.


Dog n Suds

We did our usual stop at "Dog n Sons" as Karrick
calls it, on the way up.
They were having a Classic car show
that everyone thought was cool
except TJ
"this is gay"
I have a teenager...

Tim and Cal disappeared for a couple hours
and came back with these kayaks
OMG, so much fun

Boys will be boys








Going up to the lake is so relaxing.
This weekend was the
it was just beautiful to watch

needless to say Tim and Cal were in their glory
this is seriously what it looked like

Aug 17, 2009

My sweet little boy




While sitting down by the water, Karrick asked me for
a dollar to buy a fish at the marina. I only had a 5 dollar bill
With wide eyes he asks "how many fish can I buy with this?"

This many!



Turns out Karrick wanted to buy these fish so he could release them
back into the lake to find their mommies.

I would have killed to have followed him to the marina
and listen, but going alone is such a rite of passage
that he will remember forever.
What a sweet sweet little boy, empathy
can not be taught.





Childhood: the freedom to fly down a hill






Aug 11, 2009

the bogeyman



For the last month or so, Karrick has
been sleeping on our recliner up in our bedroom.
Karrick said he was afraid to sleep in his own room

When I questioned him he replied:

"Callahan teached me about the bogeyman"

Crap! of course he did...total cal

For the last month we have explained over and over
that Cal is tricking you blah blah...
Karrick wasn't buying it...the bogeyman is real,
because apparently Cal's word is Gospel

After he would fall asleep we would put him in his bed
only to have him wake up a short time later
and climb back on the recliner

While at the library I stumbled across the this book
hoping to prove the bogeyman doesn't exist

<span class=


As I read page after scary page Karrick was
wide eyed, he didn't know whether to laugh
or cry

After this page he kept repeating

"TJ he's doesn't get ya, the bogeyman doesn't get ya"

I can't wait for the last page that
will read:

"there is no bogeyman, it's just
something snotty older brothers do the scare little boys"

I turn the final page all the while fantasizing about a good nights
sleep with no teeth grinding

and this is what greets me



Seriously, seriously!?, this is the end
Come on!


So the good news is, Karrick no longer sleeps on our recliner
the bad news, He sleep in our bed!
all the while
kicking, thrashing and grinding his teeth

Really!? Seriously!? Come on guys

"it's me the bogeyman under your bed" ?

Now what the Hell am I suppose to do?

How about a disclaimer on the cover that reads:

WILL NOT INVALIDATE THE LEGITIMACY OF THE BOGEYMAN


I googled the book and this is what they said:


"In this accurate appraisal of nighttime fear, a bona fide Bogeyman describes his terror tactics. The disembodied Bogeyman, represented as two icy-blue hands with spiky scarlet fingernails, traps a boy at bedtime."

Didn't think to put that on the book jacket?


Aug 10, 2009

All good things must come to an end

This weekend the Thunder played it's final tournament.
It was held in Lynwood Il. Holy Smokes
was it hot! The boys were there all day Sat and Sun.
We took 3rd and had some tough competition.
The end is always bitter sweet, but we all are ready for a break
I will surely miss our Thunder family. See you all
next year.


Karrick and his girlfriend Riley
After Saturday's games we all went to dinner



The team at Dominick's in
Villa Park...one of
our sponsors




Hot Hot Hot!
Did I mention how hot it was?


After Dominick's all the boys piled
into Missy's van to take a late night dip in
her pool
How much dust settled on the bottom?
Look at the boys baseball tans
black arms white shoulders
and chests




In between games there is only
enough time to drink a coke and eat a snicker bar.
They drink Gatorade during games
Anything more would make them throw up on
the field

Thanks all you coaches for your
time and dedication to our boys

Our final record for 38 games was
30 wins, 8 losses

Aug 6, 2009

A perfect end to a perfect day

After the Zoo we headed back to Downtown
Lombard for a lunch of
Turkey sandwiches and pizza
at Brix

After lunch we headed across the street to
"Sweet Street" an old fashioned
candy store with all the classics from my childhood.
They even carry the candy cigarettes
I'm embarrassed to say we spent $28 on candy




Just the cutest store ever

A perfect end to a perfect day. It was a treat
to spend the day with my 2 little guys