Babies

Today Susan came over with Heather and Baby Jeffrey to do a little scrapbooking. At one point Jeffrey was a little bit fussy and I was holding him for her. It was the first time in a very long time that holding a baby did not make me nostalgic. I didn't hold on a little too tight and tell Randy I wanted one. Instead, I told him that while it was nice to have a baby around for a little while, it was nice to know he was going home too. Maybe old age is actually kicking in. It did make me miss my new nephew though. It's hard for me to believe that I have not seen him yet and won't for quite a while. I saw all of the others within a few days of their birth. I saw Jeffrey before he even came home form the hospital. Now, he's all grown-up. Brayden is the first baby on either side of our family in 9 years and he is so far away! I have only seen the pictures from the day he was born...no updated ones. (Yes, this is a hint to John or Christine or anyone else who could forward some new ones to me!)
My baby was out on his own tonight. He thinks he is pretty cool right now. After all, he is a seventh grader. He went to the movies with a friend tonight. We dropped him off at the theater, waited while he went in, and then sat out front for ten minutes waiting for the movie to end so we could pick them up. I can't remember how old Matt was when we started letting him do this. But Patrick is and always will be the baby. It is harder to let him go and do things. At the same time, it is nice that Randy and I actually have some grown-up time.
Aaaaaah, babies!!!!

Calgon Take Me Away!

I can't believe how quickly things have returned to normal here. Matt is only home a few days and all Hell has broken loose. He and Patrick are at each other's throats constantly. What happened to my quiet, happy house? I want it back! Today they argued about Harry Potter, the tv, setting the table, clearing the table, who was lazier, who does more around the house, and on and on.... Randy and I went to the gym for an hour and it was so peaceful!!!
This morning we went to Holy Spirit for church. Patrick loved the service. He is determined that we are joining there, but I'm still not sure. I liked the music and the sermon was really good. It's just very contemporary. So different from what I know and am used to. And it is hard to leave St. Johns. We joined there before Matt was born, and it was such a big part of our lives. But it has changed a lot. I don't feel good after I leave on a Sunday morning. I don't feel like I belong there anymore. So, I guess that we need to go to a few more churches, or at least go to Holy Spirit a few more times before we decide. I just wish it were easier.

The Peace is Over

What a quiet few days it has been. No bickering, no name calling, no petty little arguments. But tomorrow it ends. At 10 am I arrive at Albright College to pick Matt up from camp. Despite our initial reservations, it has been wonderful. It has been quiet. We have set our own schedule and no one has complained. There are no dirty socks all over the house (only because Patrick doesn't bother to wear them most days). I have only had to put gas in my car once! Life has been very good. Matt called tonight to see when I would be there tomorrow. He wanted to know if I was coming for the All-Star Game. It turns out he was chosen as a camp all-star. He was pretty excited about it. They did press releases and everything. But he feels bad that not all of his teammates made it. I guess he has a heart after all...he just doesn't show it to his little brother very often.

Letting Go

Today was a big day for me. My boys are 15 and 12. They love to go and visit friends and family. They like sleepovers with their friends. But they get homesick. A few years ago, Matt went away for 36 hours to a friend's cabin and he called us 4 times. Last year he flew by himself to vivit his friend in FL for a few days. We were meeting him there, so he was only away from us for the better part of two days.
Today he left for a week of basketball camp. This is a big deal. The camp is a "showcase" type of camp, where college coaches come and watch them and do some recruiting. It is ranked as one of the top camps in the Northeast. He has been invited to participate for three years and he has turned them down every year. This year, the invitation came and he wanted to go. HIs friends were going. Originally, his whole team was going but the numbers slowly dwindled. He stuck it out though. He left at noon with a friend and his dad. He is staying in a college dorm and playing ball from 8 am until 8 pm every day. I know he will do great. I know that he will love it. I know that he will realize how independent he really is. But I am still worried about him. It's just one more step toward his leaving. This is the child who told me last week that while he wants to go to college in FL, he knows he will return here because he will miss us, his home, and his friends too much to stay away. Patrick, on the other hand, is probably already packed for college.
So, I am reluctantly letting go. It's just the beginning. He'll be back, creating chaos within the week. And we will be one step closer to his leaving for good.

Summertime and the Living is Easy...NOT!!!

School got out back on the 16th of June. On the 17th, we headed to Gettysburg for an AAU tournament. The Tarheels took 2nd place and we experienced a unique Ghost Tour. Miss Vicki was one scary seer. Definitely scarier than any ghost we might have encountered. A Ghost Tour with a group of fifteen year-old boys is a real experience. Since we weren't able to witness the "smells of the dead" that we were warned about, they created their own. The boys definitely made it a more enjoyable experience with their great senses of humor.
We returned on Sunday night and headed out again on Wednesday for a Caribbean cruise with Mom and Dad K. It was a nice vacation. There is NOTHING like a cruise for a relaxing, pampering vacation. Back only one day, we headed to the Jersey shore to see all of the Hugheses for the 4th of July weekend. Since we haven't been home, Randy was way behind on work and we had to head home early, missing the actual 4th and all of the fireworks. It was good to sleep in our own beds last night though. It seems like it has been forever.
Today we were trying to get back into a normal routine for the rest of summer. Trying is the operative word. Patrick wanted to shop for his mini-iPod that he was buying with birthday money. He also had a tennis match, and Matt has weight-lifting for soccer. In between everything else, I was trying to clean, do laundry and get all of our suitcases unpacked and clothing put away. Oh, well, there is always tomorrow.
Tonight, I am planning to work on some scrapbooking layouts. I haven't had time lately and I am itching to get back to it. It is my creative outlet and stress release. I NEED to find time to get to it.

Talk to everyone soon!!!

I Am a CopyCat

I have been reading tons of scrapbooking blogs lately and thought they were the coolest thing. Today, Donna emailed and said she had started a blog at this site. I had to try it. Now, let's just see if I actually have enough news to actually share with people. Ok, let's rephrase that..let's see if I have enough news that people actually want to hear about.