My sweet Callahan is officially a high schooler

CALLAHAN'S GRADUATION WEEK !

 These two are just perfect, like a prince and a princess.

 The 2 of them are wise and mature beyond their years. They bring the best out in each other, Cal is wickedly funny and somewhat reserved. Katie is all personality, quick, clever and not to mention as darling as they come. They ARE the 8th grade couple. Met in Italy where they spent 10 days together (under the watchful eye of Tim and Katie's mom, Deanna)

Soon to be celebrating 1 year together

What a great week couple of weeks in the McGinty house.

My sweet beautiful intellegent Callahan graduated from Glenn Westlake Middle School last night. The ceremony was head at Glenbard East High School.

Tuesday was the 8th grade dance on the Spirit of Chicago downtown

 My photo of them in their dancing clothes has been postponed due to weather and life.

I am hoping to shoot them today.

I could not be more pround of Callahan if I tried. 

Forget being rediculouly smart (scored above average on the SAT's 4 years early)

He is kind, thoughtful and caring. Cal is the kid that will get up at a restaurant to go hold the door open for a senior citizen. He is very open with his emotions. I can glance at him and see him gently putting Katie's hair behind her ear.

Callahan can fix anything...ANYTHING! he took apart a car at age 12, fixed it,  sand blasted it and repainted it. He has fix computers, garbage disposals, doors, cars, lawn mowers, bikes to name a few. 

I was laying in bed the other night and heard powers tools in the garage. The next morning he said he was bored so he built a table. (he had friends over in the garage last weekend and felt bad that one of the fathers had to drop off a long table for them to sit at while hanging and listening to music)

My hope is that callahan has the most amazing summer before entering high school. He is spending a week overnight at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora where he is taking a summer  Energy/physics camp. He will get a taste of dorm life as he has wanted to go to HS there since 3rd grade when he walked out of his 1st IMSA camp saying

 "I love it, I am finally with kids that are just like me"

Older brother build character!

Look at my guys, Love them!

 Missing my Karrick in this picture, he was off chatting with the graduated girls

Callahan has just an amazing group of friends, together and tight  since 1st grade. These friend are one of the main reasons I didn't have Callahan moved up a grade early on

On the morning of the Dance, Gayle got all the boys and us moms together at 7:15 am for pictures. These are the pictures I shot

 We have watched these boys grow and mature into fine young men. I cant belive they will all be starting freshman year together...they were just babies yesterday

 330 kids graduated from GWMS

 We are all so proud of Callahan, a kind, thoughtful and caring young man. You are the real deal and we love you to pieces

Callahan is destine make a difference in this world!

You are an original

Happy Birthday mom

Today is my mom's 76th Birthday

 9 years ago today she had emergency brain surgery.

In exactly 2 weeks it will be 9 years ago that she left us

My close friends know how I struggled with her death, I don't think my family or my husband even knew, by no fault of their own

It took 3 solid years before I could mention her without crying. 

I was angry and sad and mad

I drank a lot that first year

Today is my 8  year  anniversay of being sober, on my moms birthday.

My brother Jim posted this video, I have never seen or heard this before (I get that I live in a music closet)

Thank Jim for sharing this

video

It made me cry, but a different cry. Of course there is a sadness, but somehow a happy cry. so much of my mom lives on through us kids. The older I get the more I realize how many lives she touched. Just the comments on facebook from all her friends, ours cousins and our friends growing up while spending time in our home.

She was a part of their lives too....everyone's lives

Thats a Blessing, she was a blessing and I am blessed because she was my mom

Karrick's Christening May 5th 2004

3 weeks before my mom died

Mothers Day on the Farm

Mothers Day was celebrated in Long Grove. The weather was amazing! I sat outside and jsut sshot candids of the kids playing

 My Three Sons

Karrick needs only his imagination

 

real life fairy garden

Just a fun looking photo

I have been so busy that I haven't taken a lot of pictures lately and certainly nonefor just the fun of it. I did 2 professional shoots in April, but thats it. Today was a fantastic picture taking day in Long Grove. The sun was shinning and the grounds were bursting with color. I love this shot becasue it has a watercolor/fairytale look to it and I caught Karrick smack dab as he ran through the sunlight. I did add some upper left sunlight, but other than that it's SOOC

Shot with Canon zoom 75-300

My Mother

My mom was the most incredible lady. She was smart, funny, elegant and full of grace. Everybody loved Joanne...everybody!

She raised 5 children while my dad worked 2 jobs. A Chicago Fireman and a sign painter. My dad would do a 24 hr shift at the firehouse and sometimes go straight to his second job. My mother did it all and was always home and there for us growing up. She always told me that I would make it in life no matter what (probably told my siblings the same thing) I believed her.

She had a bridge club and a mahjong club (high school friends) . Her and my father went out every  Saturday night. She would get all dressed up and put on her Chanel #5 and leave us monsters with a babysitter that we tormented, I mean tormented.

My mom and dad were the pretty people, the people everyone wanted to hang with. They walked in the room and people noticed them. They met in HS, dated and got married 5 years after graduation. My mom worked for Leo Burnett (pre-kids) and dad CFD. While with Leo Burnett my mother was asked to be the Marboro woman in their cigarette commercial.  We have the commercial on VHS somewhere is it awesome, my mom writing a letter to her boyfriend in the army, she pauses lights up a cigarette, takes a drag and blows out the smoke while gazing at the photo of her serviceman. I should try and dig it up

 My mom was Ms Mercy of Mercy High School 1955, the senior chosen that had all the qualities. Her picture graced a full page in the front of the yearbook

Grandma loved her grandchildren and she would keep them overnight all the time. She loved to have them sleep on her shoulder. Sadly she passed away 2 months after Karrick was born. It will be 9 years this month.

I talked to my mom almost everyday and still feel a void after all this time.

She was a great one and I am super lucky to have had her as a mother

Happy Mother's Day Mom, I love and miss you!

Good things, good things

Today TJ and I ordered our passports for Costa Rica. We had to move the date back a week because TJ booked a feature film....YES, he is going to light up the big screen. As my luck would have it, it films during the week we were to be gone...no biggie as we still have to purchase our tickets. TJ had to sign a NDA (non disclosure agreement) to work on the film, so I have to keep everyone in the dark. It's big and it's cool. He had his fitting yesterday and got paid for it...Love it!

Just saying, out of the 3 people being fitted at that time, only 1 was gushed over about how "Perfect" he looked in costume. Guess who? Yep- the TJ-ster!

Needless to say TJ is stoked! He has the cool law firm internship and a major motion picture to keep him busy all summer! The boy will be earning his own cash.

He worked so hard for the last couple years audtioning and auditioning, he got call backs but didn't get booked. He never got down, never complained and most of all Never gave up!

His perseverance has paid off!

Now to the above picture 

I am starting this tomorrow...it is similar to stuff we do in bootcamp, but we use weights while doing excercises. I will do both, I can't always make bootcamp, Im averaging once a week....(it is 3x a week) I have noticed a difference in my body, clothes fit better, but I haven't really lost any weight...maybe 4 lbs.

I will horrify myself by posting my results

Karricks Communion and Cals SAT

Saturday was one busy day. Karrick made his First Holy Communion at Sacred Heart Church. Tim dropped us off early(we still only have 1 car and it is a rental) at Lilacia Park which is across the street from the Church. Tim had to go pick up Callahan from Glenbard West HS where he took the SAT's for the 1st time. He said the math was easy, reading was boring and some of the vocabulary was hard. Considering he is only in the 8th grade, sounds like he did okay.

Lilcia Park is just beginning to bloom....the weather was fantastic for a few shots.

My little Karrick looks so cute in his Shaun White skinny black pants . He may be a peanut but he is all legs...just like his mama!

Some new friends came to pick up TJ and brought Karrick some homemade cupcakes. So very sweet and thoughtful. The rose one was just for me

 Below is my SAT shot of Glenbard West HS. Cal had to be there no later than 7:45 am. At 7 30 we had to turn around because we forgot the sciencetific calulator, then we had to search for batteries. At 7:37 we flew to Glen Ellyn. It is actually faster to get to GWHS than it is to Glenbard East as both school are less than 3 miles away.

baby steps

This week brought us nicer weather so we could start the clean up process. I have posted the before and after shots. I called the village and they came out and power washer my walkway and lawn...a regular hose wasn't powerful enough.