My big eyed baby boy

Movie or baseball career?

I have been in a panic lately, with a few full blown anxiety attacks. I have crazy dreams and wake up a few times a night. Why, you ask?...entirely too many things are starting to come together for my TJ, It's all good things and as parents we want our kids to have it all, but no matter which way I add it up I'm coming up short.

TJ has been waiting a long time to play high school ball...well, he got the chance. TJ officially made the team on Thursday. We won't find out if it is the A or B team for 3 more weeks. Ordinarily, it wouldn't matter

but...

This semester TJ took Intro to Drama to fulfill an easy elective requirement. Turns out it is his favorite class and he really wants to join drama and be in the school play. He is playing baseball, so he will have to wait until next winter, when football is over. He is also thinking about drama in college in addition to baseball and pre-med...whatever...

Last April Lily's Talent signed TJ in anticipation of him growing and being an adult model for them. TJ waited very patiently for almost a year watching Callahan book job after job. Last month TJ had 2 movie auditions at Columbia college...one of them he received a callback and made it to the final 2...we really thought he booked it, but the casting director said, and I quote:

"While TJ is exceptionally talented, the director feels that he isn't quite ready for the role of "Garrett."

We really appreciate the time you spent bringing him to the audition and I hope that I can keep his head shot and resume in my files so that I can email you about any further work I feel he might be interested in'

I think it came down to experience, TJ just doesn't have enough...yet

.. A week ago TJ had an another audition at Columbia by the same director for a different movie. Plus, this week his agent called to say TJ was one of 3 boys from Lily's that was chosen to audition for a NBC Pilot called REM starring Jason Isaacs.(click on REM to go to Jason page then click on REM in pre production, then click on 9 news articles to see plot) If he got the show, they would fly us to LA to shoot the Pilot over spring break. If the pilot got picked up TJ would have a recurring role...in LA.

My fear was "Holy crap, what if he got it"

not "ah, he won't get it"

See now where the anxiety kicks in? I do have a job and 2 other kids. Tim works many hours.

Scale pay for this would cover 4 years of college.

TJ had the audition on Thursday, for REM he feels he did well. there were probably 12 teens total auditioning. No info was given and no callback dates posted....so we are in limbo.

Jump to TJ making the baseball team....honestly if A or B were chosen that would help with all these decisions...except LA...he would go to LA.

Yesterday, I received an email from the director from Columbia college saying " We would like to see TJ next Saturday at 2 pm (TJ got a callback)...memorize 4 new pages of script"...movie will shoot around spring Break and the week after.

Baseball practice- Mon-Fri 7-9pm and 1-3 on Saturday's.

With a freaking pounding heart yesterday , I emailed the director from Columbia asking for the schedule of practice times as I needed to make sure TJ can commit 100% to the movie with baseball.

I honestly expected a "we'll call you for the next movie when TJ isn't in sports"

NOOOO, I got a nice reply saying "it shoots around spring Break and we will fit in the rehearsals around the 2 main characters schedules....Aarrgh! TJ being a main character (potentially)

We should say "No" to the movie, but here is my selfish thinking. 24 kids tried out for baseball...3 were not good and should have been cut. They kept all 24 to have 2 full teams.(very low turnout) TJ is battling one other boy for A team short stop...only 1 will get it and the other will go to B.

If 100 kids tried out and they took the top 24 A/B team....who cares? But a B team with 3 crappy players...is a crappy team. I'm just being honest here.

See my "stuck in limbo" predicament? Do we turn down callback? and hope he gets on A? Do we commit to both and them plunge a knife in my chest if the pilot pans out after committing to Columbia and baseball?

Of, course non of this is life or death, but each choice can alter his future, Not to mention I don't want to burn any bridges for TJ

TJ is a very talented actor we are finding out....coincidently in the pilot and the Columbia college movie TJ would play a teenager that just lost his mom. He almost had me in tears when we did lines. He can make his voice crack and he can cry on cue.

There are just too many "What if's" here

Aarrgh!!!

My TJ, a Glenbard East Baseball playing Ram

Congratulations to my #18

TJ is officially a member of the Glenbard East Rams Baseball Team

Glenbard East High School Baseball try outs

It all started here at Maple Park, a little boy threw on sun glasses and picked up a bat and hasn't put it down yet

TJ started playing baseball in kindergarten at age 5 in Oak Park. He put his mitt on the wrong hand, wore soccer cleats and didn't know the game.  TJ got up every morning before school, went in the back yard and hit ball after ball off the tee. Every spare moment was spent playing baseball...TJ was determined. That first year he won the sportsmanship award and was nicknamed Hollywood because he was stuck in right field and had to wear sun glasses to see the ball

By age 6 he was an All-star, by age 8 he was playing 8U travel.

TJ continued to play in-house, travel and Fall ball every year. In the winter he takes private pitching lessons.

That little boy is now a big boy, 14 years old and trying out for the Freshman Baseball team. Try-outs are everyday this week Mon-Fri from 7-9 pm. His week consists of school, homework, dinner and baseball. He is tired, but still gives 100%. So far he feels good about his performance. He said the coach pulled him aside and told him he was doing a great job. Nothing in high school is a guarantee and I am making sure TJ takes nothing for granted. Michael Jordan didn't make his sophomore basketball  team

There is an A and  B team. TJ said he doesn't care which team he gets on, he just wants to play ball, which shows me he is playing for the right reason...for the love of the game.

I honestly can't imagine him not making either team, but things happen

Good Luck to my little man

ice + sun = beauty

The latest McGinty toys

Tim, his brother, Callahan and my niece have been enjoying all this snow for the last few weekends

The hair

Karrick marched into the hair salon and said "I want my hair like Justin Bieber, I got his CD and just saw the movie I'm going to be a singer" all in one quick breath
I'm going to say this "I enjoyed the movie and the CD is very pretty" I may even listen to it by myself driving to work everyday and yes, I sing along...AND I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT!

and the pink eye is finally gone....that was just horrible!

What a beautiful shade of pink.....eye

BUNCO

My good friend Missy hosted BUNCO night at her house. 16 of us girls came to win. I never played before, but I understand why so many people play. It was so much fun...I seriously haven't laughed that hard in so long. What a great evening with great gals....can't wait to do it again

Callahan-modeling

 My Ginny's catalog came in the mail today and my Callahan's picture is in there. Every job Cal gets now is a gift, as his days are numbered. He is getting too tall to kid model....He's 5'4 ,12 years old next month. He sure will miss it, he has had a steady income since age 2.....he hasn't had his growth spurt yet, so maybe he'll shoot up to 5' 11 and continue to work in the adult world...I'm willing to draw a beard on him

New car

 Last Friday Tim's car died...I mean died, no fixing it dead. We have had one of those weeks where we go from one place to another everyday from sun up to sun down, with 1 car. Tim found our new (used) 740 BMW for a steal! I drove him to pick it up, we plopped down cash and drove away. A perfect end to a long, busy and somewhat frustrating week

WE OWN A BMW !!!!!!

Daylight

Crazy Train

 This year Karrick's school had an 80's dance party instead of the traditional sock hop. Karrick was Ozzy Osbourne. He was a little upset when we got there and he realized there was no stage for him to get up and sing on, he loves the song Crazy train and Iron Man. Our PTA puts on this annual party all free of charge, complete with DJ, games, prizes and food...FREE

The above picture was taken at the end of the party. All the kids do is run, run and run until they a exhausted. There is something adorable and kind of tragic about it...the big brown eyes?  Rosey cheeks? A Kewpie doll?  Do I dare say "the Heroin sheik look"

 Karrick's "pleather" pants a find at the Good Will store $3.99, along with the rocker tee $2.99 . Both found in the girl section. When we got home Karrick goes "get these pants off me, I am sweating, even my underwear is sweating"

 Ring Pop walk...Karrick won

It's A Boy!

It is that time again in the McGinty house.... Baby Egg time.

In 6th  Family Science all students must take care of their own baby egg. Callahan must take care of "Chester" 24/7 for 3 days. In the event he can't,  he must get a baby sitter.

In order to receive their eggs yesterday, they had to bring a crib and all the necessities to school. Monday night Callahan ran around and found everything he believed little Chester would need. Tuesday morning he ran out the door to catch the bus and left all his stuff on the table....Aarrgh!

After I dropped Karrick at school I schlep all my grand-egg's stuff to the middle school office. Clearly it shows that GOD FORBID, 6TH GRADERS JUST AREN'T READY FOR PARENTHOOD. As I was walking out, another proud grandfather was walking in with a little basket.

I thought Callahan did well with gathering supplies, I love the roll of "baby wipes". Next to it is the baby bottle and below is Chester's doll

I wasn't really sure what the band-aid was for...

Then Chester came home on his first day wearing a band aid. Turns out Callahan stuck a pencil in the lid of his Tupper-wear crib to ventilate and 

SHANKED THE BABY! 

We had to put out an Amber Alert for Chester, he didn't come home with Callahan today.

This is Cal's story "I didn't want to put Chester on the floor after school at my locker for fear he might get kicked, so I put him in my locker while I filled my back pack. I was running late for the bus so I slammed my locker and ran. Once I got outside and saw all my friends with their eggs getting on the bus....CHESTERRRRRRRR!"

"By then it was too late, I would have missed the bus...."

The rule in the McGinty house is

"you miss the bus...you walk"

We'll see how poor Chester weathers the night in the locker. Cal says on average 3 eggs come back to the teacher unscathed at the end of the project. One poor egg was eaten by the house hold dog and just pieces were turned in.

On a positive note my TJ was one of 2 kids in his class to return a perfect egg and receive a 100%. TJ has and always has had a knack for taking care of babies. He has taken care of Karrick since birth. At age 5 we left Karrick, in TJ's ( age 13) care overnight while Tim and I went to a hotel. Yes, we sent Callahan over to a buddies.

Tj's friend Doug, while waiting for the bus in 6th grade let a classmate hold his egg. That classmate dropped the egg. If someone else breaks your egg, you get an automatic A and the murderer gets a detention. Stories of broken eggs are a dime a dozen

An old friend joined us for lunch

Buttercup used to go everywhere with Karrick. For the last year Buttercup sits in the corner of Karrick's bed...a sign that a little boy is growing up.

Buttercup joined us for lunch and the watched Karrick play basketball