Time sure flies

We spent last weekend in Chicago and I'm just now posting about it. It was a big baseball weekend for Brantley. On Friday, he got to go to the cross town classic. For those that don't know, that would be the Cubs Vs. the Sox. It was at US Cellular Field which was nice since he has already been to Wrigley. Unfortunately, the Cubs lost. On Sunday, the boys went to see the Schaumburg Flyers. I guess that team is a couple steps below minor league. Brantley still enjoyed it and came home with an autographed ball. Who signed it? Who knows!

Thursday was Aunt Rosemarie's birthday, so we also got to celebrate her birthday with her and her family. She has a big Italian family and it's fun getting to know them. Rosemarie wanted to have a cornhole tournament, but the weather didn't cooperate so we were stuck inside.

The other highlight of the weekend was the Wii. Brantley had so much fun playing the sports games. He became a pro bowler in no time. Uncle Matt hasn't even achieved that status yet!

I didn't take many pictures, but here is one of the birthday girl with Matt, her mom, dad, and brother and a couple of the boys playing cornhole before the weather turned off bad.

More about Discipline

Last week, I threatened Brantley that if he did not start behaving, I would put him on the list of kids that had to stay back and didn't get to go on the field trip. He didn't believe me that there was such a list, so when I dropped him off, I showed it to him. There are various reasons why kids would be on the list, but Brantley's reason is punishment! The girl at the desk was wondering what I was doing so I explained. I told him sometimes I just don't know what else to take away and not getting to go on a field trip would be good motivation. Of course like everyone else, she was surprised to hear that Brantley even has a behavior problem. At least I feel pretty sure that he behaves for everyone else.

So, this morning after I asked him three times to get up and get dressed, and Lawson went back there to try to get him dressed and he still didn't, I pulled the card. He wouldn't cooperate, wouldn't get dressed, threw a fit about brushing his teeth and putting on suntan lotion. I gave him so many chances and warned him that he would not go swimming. Finally, I had to do it. I told Lawson to put Brantley on the list when he dropped him off. Brantley started crying and was so upset. I left for work because I was already running late. Lawson called me after he dropped Brant off and wasn't happy about having to be the bad guy. He said Brantley went back and sat down and cried.

I felt really bad when I got to work. I kept thinking about calling and telling them he could go swimming, but I didn't. About 11 I got a call. They were confused because Brantley had on his swim trunks and had his towel. The girl that called was the one that I had talked to last week and she said she figured that was what happened. I told her he could go. It had ruined his morning and I felt like he had to have learned his lesson.

He didn't say anything about it when I picked him up. When Lawson asked him about it, he lied and said he didn't go swimming. What was he thinking!! First off, even if I didn't already know, his towel was wet and a dead give away which I pointed out to him. We had to have a long talk about it. Hopefully, he understands. If not, no field trip Thursday. We'll see what happens

Dad's Weekend Update - Father's Day

Well, it was a great father's day. First, Brant wakes we up an hour early - I had wanted to sleep in just a tad... But, an hour later I had a great breakfast and strong latte to get me going!!! Both were made by the best wife ever!!

It was a very relaxing morning and early afternoon as we watched Benchwarmers a few times. I have really grown to love that movie, as has Brant.

We took Mom and Dad to La Paz for lunch. We had some cheese dip and poppers for an appetizer. Brant had some corn doggies and I had the Burrito Gordo with steak and I am still full. Everyone else had some type of quesadilla. We then went back to my parents house and watched some of the US Open.

The real fun happened around 5:00 when we did our shopping at WalMart. I did manage to pick up some Hot Tomales for my evening enjoyment.

The day flew by, but it was very enjoyable. I can't say the same about next weekend... see below... Maybe Brant, dad and I can at least make it to a Sounds game next weekend.

I had planned to begin my research paper this weekend, but that didn't happen. Oh well, I have till the 23rd... That's lots of time :(

Home Run Champ

You didn't think I could leave it at that did you? Saturday was a very exciting day. Brantley was very nervous and worried about not hitting the ball. I tried to tell him just to go out and have fun because no matter what happened, I was proud of him. He puts so much pressure on himself. Don't know where he got that. The running and throwing competitions were uneventful. For the hitting competition, the other team got to his first. They got 5 pitches and the ball was marked where it landed. Before our team got up to hit, Brantley's coach asked me to get 5 balls out of his bag. He wanted the ones that were softer, they feel kinda spongy. Brantley was up first. He hit it long and had the long ball. There were a couple on our team that I thought had a chance of getting one farther than Brantley, but none did. Then, they called Brantley back up. I didn't notice that they made the coach use 5 other balls and Brantley was the only one that hit with the spongy ones. Brian wanted to use those because he thought the kids could hit them farther, but he was supposed to use the harder one. Since Brantley had the long ball, he had to hit again. I was so nervous for him. But, before that, I had told him he had the long ball and I think he relaxed a bit. He got up and was just as comfortable as could be, and he hit it even further! At that point, he had won the competition on his field, but he still had to compete against the winners from the other three fields. I couldn't believe how many people were there watching. All of Brantley's team mates, even the ones who were not on his Cubs team, were excited for him. I was so excited and nervous for him and also proud of him for getting up in front of all those people. But, you should have seen him. By now he was thinking no one could beat him and was very confident. You could see it in the way he held the bat. He was so determined. This time they got 5 swings instead of 5 pitches. I think this is much better because some times the pitches are not good and they don't have a chance. Jett was up first. I have to preface this part by saying that Lawson got on to me about my last post because of how I talked about Jett. I really wasn't trying to be mean, I was only trying to convince myself that Brantley had a chance against this kid. Jett had a couple decent hits (and he hit Kurt who was pitching to him). His long ball was in the outfield just short of the fence. Brantley got up and was so confident. He fouled a couple and had a couple of strikes, but he didn't let it get to him. Then, on his fifth swing, he hit it. It landed in the outfield, just short of the fence. I had kept quiet up to this point, but after that I screamed! I didn't care if he had won or not because it was an awesome hit. Then, I saw Kurt remove Jett's marker. Brantley's ball went further. There was some confusion at the end I think because Brantley's jersey says Brant and Kurt (since Brantley went by Brantley went Kurt coached him) was referring to him as Brantley and they thought it was the other kid Frankie that had won. But, the confusion was put to rest and Brantley won. He was so proud of himself. Out of 90+ kids, he hit the long ball. I had to be a little cocky about it and I told Lawson, "I bet Kurt wishes he had picked Brantley for the tryout team now." I took a few pictures. I didn't take many because I didn't want to make Brantley nervous. I have one before the big hit, on getting ready to accept his trophy, him accepting his trophy, Brantley in the dugout after the ceremony, and last is a picture of Brantley with his new buddy James.

Dad's Weekend Update - May 31st

Being lazy, but like they say a picture is worth a thousand words. Spring 2008 Home Run Champ... Brant Freeman!!

Wish Brantley Luck!

Brantley is playing in an All-Star tournament tomorrow. I hope it's fun. He had practice twice this week with his team and we practiced tonight with Carson. The other night, he fouled one out over the dugout. Tonight, he fouled one out past third base. It was a nice hit, but foul no less. His best hit tonight landed in the grass about 6 feet(maybe less) from the fence. The competition in the morning includes a running, homerun, and throwing competitions. I was worried about the homerun competition since I know that Jett is competing, but then Brant's coach told me they get 5 pitches, they mark them where they land, and that's it. If Jett hits anything like he did when we played his team, he won't get one off. So, Brantley does have a chance. After those competitions, we'll be playing a game. Supposedly they are not keeping score, but what's the point of an All-Star game if you don't keep score?

This is Classic!

Brantley spent the day with his friend Carson since there was no school. I'm not sure what they did today, but this is what happened about 6:00.

If you listen closely, you can hear Brantley say "Okay, I'll start the movie."

Baseball is over...

Another season is over. The kids all had a great time and some improved a lot. I feel bad now because Brantley got up to bat and he was trying so hard to hit the ball out of the park, he fouled it back 5 or 6 times (kinda like Jett from a couple games ago). And, I feel bad for saying the parents were not very involved. They gave me a gift card to O'Charley's and a gift card to Cold Stone Creamery in appreciation. And the coach gave me a gift card to Chili's. All in all, it was a very fun season. A couple of the boys were trying at times, but for the most part they were all great. Oh, and the trophy's were the cutest I've seen.

Brantley at Work

Yesterday was the big "Grand Opening" of our new headquarters at my work. We moved in about a month ago and it's still not finished inside, but they had the "Grand Opening" anyway. Since the company just laid off a lot of people, we won't be having the normal summer company picnic that they usually spend a lot of money on. They just combined that with this event so family could come visit the new building. They did have a couple of large inflatables and a rock climbing wall for kids and big kids to play on. We also had a visit from the Chick-fil-A cow. Wow. I can hardly contain myself. We did have hamburgers and hot dogs, but being health conscious, no chips. We also had grilled chicken and turkey burgers with salad and fruit as sides. They did have some cookies and I think I saw a slushie station for the kids. It was supposed to last until 8, but about 5:30 my friend said they were starting to clean up the food so we better get over there to eat. Brantley was playing with his friend Ben and his little brother Chase. Did I mention that his mom now works where I do? She started there about a month after I did. Small world. Anyways, the boys didn't want to go eat, but we made them take a break from playing so we could get something. Brantley was going to split a burger with me, but decided after I got it that he wanted it all to himself, so I just got a piece of chicken and salad. The burger must not have been all that good because Brantley ended up only eating half of it. Of course, that could have been because he wanted to go play. Lawson didn't get off work until 6 so there wasn't any food by the time he got there. Prior to hooking up with Ben and his mom, I had taken Brantley up to the fifth floor. When I told him about visiting my building, he asked how many floors it was. I told him 5. Then he asked what floor I was on. When I told him the top floor, he thought that was cool. Our building has lots of security features and we have 24 hour security guards. They had a guard posted on each floor for the event. As we were walking to my cube, Brantley exclaimed, "Everyone has a white board. This is awesome!" He was so excited about the white boards. I had no idea. That's all he wanted to do when we got to my cube. He drew a couple pictures, erased them, and decided to give me a math lesson. Then, all he wanted to do was math. My co-workers kept asking him to draw a pictures and they thought it was funny that all Brant wanted to do was math. Then, he grabbed one of my notebooks and started looking at a contract. My manager said, "I think all he wants to do is work!" I haven't decorated my cube much yet. We are allowed to do whatever we inside the cube, except no plants and no pets. I haven't really gotten settled because I'm not sure how long I am going to stay here. I've been considering looking around. It's been a year now and I'm not feeling like this company is a good fit for me. Who knows though.

Quotable Quotes

I was so riled up last night that I forgot about the quotable quote. After I took Brant out and got him in the dugout, I asked, "Did it mainly just scare you?" To which Brantley exclaimed, "NO, it just HIT me!" He was not a happy camper.

Ranting and Raving

Alright, if you don't want to hear me ranting and raving like a lunatic, stop reading now. If you enjoy listening to a good rant every now and then, read on!

Baseball is almost over. Only two more games after tonight's debacle. Tonight we played Jett's team. Jett is the kid at the tryouts who hit it out of the field 4 times. Brantley is very impressed by this kid. I was interested in seeing the kid play. So, when he was at bat, I paid attention. And I counted. Seven, yes seven!, foul balls. Three no contact. Any other kid would have been on the T. I'm all for playing the game and having the kids follow the rules. I think we have done them an injustice by not following the rules and teaching the outs and what not. But, I have a problem with coaches that want to play the rules but make exceptions for their "Star" player. Of course, the eleventh pitch was hit and went out of the field. I say, put him on the T. Make him learn to hit the ball, not just to try to hit it out. You can't get on base if all you hit is fouls. Of course, Lawson said it would have been dangerous to put him on the T, and he's right. Brantley had some good bats. Two grounders out to the fence and one dud that landed in front of the coach. But, I must say Brantley's attitude was better. He didn't let it bother him and he still ran hard to the base.

It was a rough game. A couple of kids got hurt in the outfield. The second inning catcher got nailed by a ball to his bicep. After that happened, I shouldn't have sent a catcher out for the third inning. But, Brantley was up to be catcher and he wanted to do it. I warned him that he needed to move back when Jett got up to hit. He did, but it wasn't enough. Jett fouled it right into Brantley's chest. Not sure how it really happened, but coach said the other coach pitched it and Jett tipped it but it went back. Even though he had the gear on, it knocked the wind out of Brantley and I pulled him out. There was only one batter left I think.

In the beginning I called the game a debacle, but it really wasn't. Our kids were getting out after out. I don't think the other team ever had the bases loaded. I know Brantley got a couple outs. James caught a pop fly that was pretty awesome. There was some other great teamwork going on that got some great outs. They all played really hard and they loved it!

Dad's Weekend Update - May 10-11th

Apologies for not doing this past two weekends. Though, I am not sure if many would notice :). Anyway, this will be short and sweet. I am back in school and taking two classes this summer. Last Monday we met until 11:00 pm and as usual I waited till the last minute to do my homework and believe me there was a lot. Also, we are meeting twice this week. I know, pour me a wine-e-kin...

Well, Brant continues to improve everyday in baseball. He is hitting the ball quite a bit further most every at bat - all the way to the grass in the outfield. Though, when he doesn't quite get that "good" hit he pouts and doesn't pay attention in the field. But, we are working on that.

Speaking of baseball, maybe one day I will go on a rant about some of the opposing coaches, but I'll save that for another day.

I, of course, didn't have my video camera at Brant's last weeknight game... And, of course, he put three deep that game:) But, this is an excellent hit none the less.

To close, I posted some pictures of the breakfast I made this morning for Mother's Day. It was first attempt at waffles... the later ones turned out alot better :) For my mom, we took her [and Dad] to Mello Mushroom for her b-day and Mother's Day...

Ummm, I wonder what Matt did for Mom? :)

Crazy Bluebirds

I was sitting on the couch and heard the familiar thumping on the window, but it wasn't coming from the sun porch. Those crazy bluebirds were at the front door!

Heartbroken

Well, Brantley did not make the team. He did do really well, but they only picked 12 kids out of over 30 that tried out. They were only calling those that made the team, but because the coach knows Brantley, we got a courtesy call. He said that Brantley scored better than most of the kids that tried out, but there were 12 that scored better. Lawson and I both took that to mean Brantley was #13 (I know...probably not). I didn't tell Brantley that he didn't make it. I decided to let him listen to the message instead. The way the coach started the message, Brantley thought he made the team. When coach said he didn't make it, his heart sank. He put his head down while he listened to the rest of the message and he started crying. I don't think he even listened to the part of the message saying how well he did and to keep working at it. He's over it now, though. He really just wants to start playing real games (keeping score, outs) and he will get to do that in the 7/8s, I think. I'm actually kinda relieved. Those tournaments would have been really tough and I don't think he's ready for that yet.

Dad's Weekend Update, April 19th-20th

Well here goes. Brant played injured this morning [seems some kid like using his back as a place to put his knee last night], but that didn't stop him from playing well [would I tell you if he didn't play well?] and receiving his first game ball this year. He did get a tad upset that someone had the nerve to catch one of his hits in the air. Unfortunately my video camera batteries were not fully charged this morning so there is no video from this game, but there will be video for future games.

[4/20] I was thinking about posting a video a not so bright bird who, every morning, attempts to fly through one of the sunroom windows. But, decided to instead briefly speak about Brant's tryout this afternoon. He decided he wanted to tryout for a competitive baseball league this summer. We weren't going to do it, but he talked us into it. Really, he did! It would be a big change from what he and us are use to - keeping score, outs, rules, etc...

Anyway, 33 kids were at the tryout and they are only selecting 12 to play. I am hoping for the best. Though, it really will be a busy month if [when :0)]he makes it.. Vacation will have to be rescheduled, as will his b-day party. They play one game on Friday night and three on Saturday and Sunday! He practiced as well as I have ever seen and in my unbiased opinion he was one of the Top 15!!!

Keep your fingers crossed!!

Till next week.

Edit - decided to add the video. Enjoy!

Shake Shake Shake

I woke up at 4:38 this morning, shaking. Half asleep, I thought It must be me that was shaking. I was very confused, but then I heard the window rattling among other things. It was some pretty significant shaking, but I thought I must be crazy. I wasn't going to say anything, but I asked Lawson in the kitchen if he was up at 4:30. He wasn't. Then, I said it. "I think there was an earthquake this morning." To this he told me I was crazy. Then, not 5 minutes later they were talking about it on the news. Thank goodness. I really thought I was loosing it.

Brantley says we can't have earthquakes here because we are don't have any canyons near us. I think that is what he said, I'll have to ask him again.

Introducing....

OK. I have been meaning to contribute to Brant's blog and have decided now is as good a time as any. I plan on a having a Dad's Weekend Update starting this weekend. For the first few weeks it will more than likely consist of baseball, but has the summer progresses I am sure we will have many other adventures to tell. Stay tuned and bear with me as I begin my blogging experience...

Need a Math Lesson?

Remeber when you learned to add 2 digit numbers and you learned the rule 'carry the one'? Well, apparently, it's no longer called that. It is now called regrouping. Because you have to 'regroup' 10 ones and move them to the tens place.

Baseball

It's that time of year again. We finally had our first game tonight. As usual, the real first game and opening ceremony were cancelled due to the weather. I haven't heard anything about them rescheduling opening day, which I am glad about. With the number of kids they have this year, I can't imagine what a zoo it would have been. I was running the dugout, but I did try to take some pictures while Brant was in the outfield. He played first base during the first inning. I think I made him nervous taking pictures, so I quit. He had some decent hits, but definitely out of practice. He also got 2 outs and caught a ball. I'm not sure if the ball he caught was hit or thrown to him, I just saw the catch. He did look disappointed that he didn't get a game ball and I forgot to talk to him about that after the game. Last year he understood, but I think he has forgotten.

The coach doesn't seem to be taking charge very much, so I have stepped up and tried to be the team mom. Up until tonight, there hasn't been a lot of parent involvement. Tonight, the assistant coach didn't show up, but a couple of dads were helping out. I guess I'll be running the dugout this season. At least it seems like we have a good group of kids. One kid gets very sidetracked, but at least he doesn't have an attitude problem like the problem kid in the fall. Another kid didn't show up for any of the practices and showed up tonight for the first time.

On another note, Brantley's coach recommended him for a tryout 5/6 team. He only recommended one other kid from the team. When I heard that the coach was Brantley's first coach, I didn't have a good feeling about it. But, I emailed him anyway to get the information. He's going to pick 12 kids for the team. They have four 3-day tournaments in June and July. He only wants kids that can be there for all practices and all games. Since we have a vacation planned in June, Brantley would miss the first 2 tournaments. I'm not sure how I feel about him trying out for a team at this age anyway. I've always said I just want him to have fun and enjoy the game and that just makes it too serious. I guess we have to start thinking about things like this. Baseball is going to start to interfere more and more with other plans. The good thing about this league is they all get on a team, but they do have separate tryout teams starting at 9/10. I'm not sure if they do a 7/8 tryout team or not.

Brantley Speaks (with a lisp)

Well today I pulled my tooth out.In the tub.It was exciting.Then I played a joke on my dad.The joke was a cool joke.Dad lets pull my tooth out.

by brant

Earth Hour

Did you participate? We turned off everything in the house. We tried to read by candlelight, but that just wasn't working, so we had to get out the flashlights. I tried to explain to Brantley why we were doing this, but I don't think he got it. He didn't really want to read so he played with my DS. We are thinking about making this a weekly thing, except we will turn off everything except for a reading light. It's nice to turn off the TV and computer and listen to the quiet. We all need to read more anyway.

Check out Detroit during Earth Hour:

Two Capable Men

Back in August, Lawson purchased a basketball goal to put up. He had to get the really nice one that has to go in concrete in the ground. I figured it would sit in the garage for a couple of years. Well, last weekend we put the base in concrete in the ground. The list of things you need to put up the goal included two capable men. First off, it should say two capable people, not men. Secondly, without one smart female, they would still be out there putting it up. I took pictures to prove they actually did do some work. And, we have already been out there playing.

Oh yeah....a Quotable Quote

Babe Ruth has a big part in The Sandlot. Brantley asked, "Was Babe Ruth really the best baseball player ever?" He also said, "Maybe I will knock him down to second." That's the way to think!

Movie of the moment

Brantley tend to watch a movie, like it, and then proceed to watch it every day for a month. The movie of the moment is The Sandlot. It's actually a really good movie. Even though it came out in 1993, this is the first I had seen it. It's about a group of kids who play baseball every day in a sandlot. A new kid moves to town who is a real dork, and they take him in and teach him the game. My only complaint is that the kids do use some bad language during the movie, but Brantley knows he is not supposed to say those words.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I claim to be Irish because both of my family names, maternal and paternal, can be traced back to Ireland. Of course, the families have been here so long, I'm sure my percentage of Irish is way low. Brantley informed me that I can't be Irish because my eyes are not green. Anywho, may the luck of the Irish be with you today.

Snowballs are good from something

Yesterday, before the snow melted, we played in the snow. We tried to make a snowman but the snow would not stick together when you rolled it. But, it did make an excellent snowball. We had a little snowball fight. Lawson accidentally hit Brantley in the mouth with a hard snow ball. He was upset about it but we didn't think to much about it. Later that day we were dropping him off at Grandma and Pops (they watched him so we could go to Dewayne's 40th birthday gathering---thanks Grandma and Pop!) and Brantley was complaining his tooth was bothering him. I looked and the tooth had been pushed up and back. I could see why it was bothering him, but he wouldn't let me pull it. I thought it might come out while he was eating. So, when we got back to pick him up later that evening, he came over running to me with a ziplock bag. He had pulled it all by himself. I was so proud of him. Now, I just have to get him to pull the one that really needs to come out.

Is snow safe to eat?

Brownies!

We never have cookies, cakes, brownies, etc in our house. Some might think I'm a terrible mom because Brantley has never really eaten all that much junk food and still doesn't drink soft drinks. I think it's a great accomplishment. I decided to make brownies tonight. I have made brownies very few times since Brantley was born. This was the first time he participated in licking the bowl and the spatula, because you know you can't make brownies and not do that. He seemed to like it and was excited about the brownies. When they were done and I gave one to him, he took a tiny bite and said he didn't like it and went to the trash can and spit it out. I was very surprised, but it made Lawson happy because he finished it for Brantley.

The Answer

Either no one is reading, or no one wanted to venture a guess. Only my long time friend from junior high school commented on what Brantley was talking about. We are sort of kindred spirits. I have one child, she has four. Does that mean four times the Spongebob? Knowing how hard it is to raise one child, I have the utmost respect for anyone raising multiple children. But, now I feel old. Isn't Tyler getting close to driving age? Anyways...on to the answer. Spongebob uses a cannon to shoot articles of clothing at Mr. Krabs. One of the articles of clothing that lands on Mr. Krabs is a bra...hence...boobie cases. Only in the mind of a four year old.

I'll end this post with a couple of quotes from Albert Einstein:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."

We should always try to have and encourage the curiosity and imagination of a child.

Snow

I meant to post this the other day. We got some more snow. Here's a picture of our back yard including the bird feeder that Pudge watches intently every day. Of course, it doesn't compare to the snow Uncle Matt and Aunt Rosemarie get.

New Wall Art

I just got some new art for my desk area. The pictures are by this new artist named B. A. Freeman. What do you think? Look out Van Gogh!

Brantley Speaks

On February 23 we went to see David copperfield.AT first they showed David copperfield in a box.On a motorcycle.David copperfield and a girl disappeared to Australia.Only David copperfield came back.And nest they had picked a girl and the girl picked a card and the scorpion picked a card and the scorpion got it right.A man and gave his tie to David copperfield and mad the tie danced and mad the tie drink some milk and the tie burped.David copperfield made hemself as big as a new born baby.David copperfield send about ten balls out.And we were like hippity hop ball whoever had the ball they got to git disappeared to there favorite place



The End

More cute and funny

Okay, I debated whether I should post these stories or not, but, what the heck. Because I am not a skinny girl, when Brantley gets me laughing really hard my belly shakes. Well, Brantley started coming over to me and grabbing my mid section and makes this funny noise. I had asked him to stop doing it. This morning while I was putting his toothpaste on his toothbrush he did it and again I asked him to stop. I said, "Brantley, I know I'm fat. You don't have to do that." He look at me and threw his arms around me with a big hug and said, "Mommy...you're not fat!" How sweet is that!

Since I told an embarrassing story on me, time for one on Lawson. Recently Brantley's school had Donuts for Dads. Lawson took Brantley to school and asked if Brantley wanted to go get Donuts and he said no. When Lawson asked why he said, "Cause I want you to lose weight so you can play with me more this summer." Okay, that wasn't so sweet.

And finally, it's time for Brantley speak. You have to guess what it is you think Brantley is talking about. I love this because he always seems to make up his own words for things. So, we are watching our favorite show...SpongeBob Squarepants. The episode is 'The Algae is Always Greener' in case you want to watch it for hints. In that episode, Plankton and Krabs switch lives. Toward the end of the episode, Krabs has just tried to steal the krabby patty and he's flying through the Krusty Krab naked. SpongeBob says ,'No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service' and starts shooting at Krabs with a cannon. Brantley laughingly says, 'Look, he's going to shoot boobie cases at him!' There's your test folks. What do you think boobie cases is/are?

Brain Age

For Christmas, Lawson got me a Nintendo DS with the game Brain Age. Yes, I asked for that...don't laugh. Well, Brantley loves playing with it. He's actually really good at some of the exercises. Sometimes he plays with it when I'm not aware. He loves low to high, head count, and triangle math.

One of the things that the game does is each person sets up a profile. Sometimes when you begin it will ask you to draw pictures or answer a question like what color are you wearing today or what was the most interesting thing you saw on tv today. Once more than one person has drawn the pictures, it will show them to you side by side so you can compare and discuss. Brantley has drawn pictures for Lawson before. Now, he's answering his questions. Lawson opened up his profile and it asked what was the most interesting thing you saw on tv on 2/22. What you are supposed to do is remember what you wrote that day. Of course, he wasn't the one who wrote it so when he clicked enter and it brought up the answer from that day it said 'fidel castro'. It was even spelled correctly although Brantley didn't capitalize the names. I'm guessing he was playing with it while the news was on. Believe it or not, he really likes watching the news too.

David Copperfield

I remember watching TV specials of David Copperfield when I was growing up. I kept watching until he started doing the things that were obviously not real, like making the statue of liberty disappear. I never liked it when he did those things. I was happy just watching the normal magic he did on stage. So, when I heard David Copperfield was coming to town, I decided to take Brantley and his cousins to see him. Brantley had no idea who Copperfield was. I thought my niece and nephew might know, but they didn't either. My niece was skeptical about it. Before the show they had a large movie screen on the stage displaying descriptions and accomplishments of David Copperfield like the fact that he is the only living magician on a postage stamp, or that he was named Magician of the Millennium. She said, 'Is this just going to be a movie or is it going to be in person?' Boy was she in for a surprise. The show opened with a large box on the stage. The stage hands came out and showed the box was empty, spun it around like they do and then revealed David Copperfield sitting on a motorcycle inside. His first big act was coming through steel. He lay down on a table and a piece of steel was placed on top of the box. Then they draped a shiny silver sheet over the entire table and David Copperfield came through the steel. Brantley was unimpressed. (Today I found out he figured out basically how Copperfield did that trick.) What did impress Brantley was when he got a volunteer from the audience and borrowed his red tie. He took the tie and made it dance and do other things. Brantley was amazed. I wish I could have taken a camera inside just to get a picture of his face. The rest of the show was complete amazement for him. The look on his face was priceless. We all enjoyed it. My nephew even wants to go see him again, and I think I wouldn't mind seeing him again also.

Happy Valentine's Day!

What else do you do on Valentine's Day but pretend to brush your teeth with frosting!

SNOW!!!

Well, we finally got some snow, but it was gone by the time we got home. It was really pretty coming down this morning. Since it didn't get above freezing all day, I thought for sure it would still be on the ground when we got home. No such luck. I didn't even get a picture.

Family Photo

We don't get many of these.

How about some basketball?

Today was the final day of basketball. This has been great for Brantley to get some good winter exercise. It's hard to stay active when it's so cold outside so it's nice to have something active that is indoors. Baseball will get started in about a month and it's always so cold at the beginning. Now, I have to be the bad sportsman mom. I'm really proud of Brantley being such a team player. He always passes the ball to his teammates, however a couple of his teammates are ball hogs and won't pass the ball. We kept hoping Brantley would just take the ball all the way, but being the good team player his is, he would pass the ball and run to the square and wait for a pass...exactly what the coach told them to do. You can see in the video he's wide open waiting for a pass and gets a little annoyed. That's his buddy Houston that's about a foot taller than he is. On the way home, Lawson told him next time when he isn't getting the ball, not to pass it. Brantley said that was a dumb idea. He's already a good sportsman.

Blah Blah Blah

Almost a month without a post and no comments saying, "Hey, where are you guys?" I don't know about you, but Winter just makes me blah. The weather is crappy. Brantley has sensitive skin so his cheeks and lips get chapped all the time. He hates for me to put stuff on it, but he let's me because he knows it really does hurt when your skin cracks and bleeds. He continuously licks his lips because some kid told him that it makes it better and we all know that makes it worse.

Did I say I hate Winter?

We've just been busy with school work. Brantley started to type a post the other day but he didn't. He was excited about the 100th day of school and the trail mix that they made. Lately, we have been working on math skills. They have this math superstars thing going on. He has these tests that have 20 addition problems and they are timed. The problems are single digit addition. They have 1 minute to complete them and have to get them all correct to move on. He's really good at math but gets flustered because he wants to finish as fast as possible. I think his best time so far was 37 seconds. He also brought home another worksheet that we aren't supposed to help him with. It has 3 word problems on it. I listened and made sure he read them correctly, but I didn't help him with the answers. He got the easy one and the hard one correct. The medium one he missed. I didn't tell him, but he'll be upset when he finds out he missed it. I was really surprised that was the one he missed and he got the hard one correct.

I can't wait until Spring.

Are you ready for some....basketball!

Brantley is. He is playing in a recreational/instructional league. All they will be doing is learning the basics. They don't have to try out or anything. It's nice because he gets some winter exercise in before baseball gets started. I jokingly told Lawson this is probably the only time he will play for UT. And, probably his only chance to play basketball. He'll get to do it until 5th grade. I'm guessing in middle school they have to actually try out for the team. Unfortunately, my camera won't take pictures inside a gym but it will take video. Go figure.

Officially moved in

Well, it's been over 5 months since we moved and I think we are now officially moved in. We finally got furniture for the great room. I'm really happy with what we got. The couch that I really wanted cost about 3 times as much as what we spent on this one, and that wasn't including tax or delivery. We decided the first one was just too big. We put tape down on the floor so we could really see how it would fit and decided it was just too big. Just as well because we saved some moolah by getting this other one. I was nervous about it because we ordered it online and didn't get to do the sit test with it. But, it was a lot cheaper and delivery was included so we took a chance. After we ordered it, I found a magazine page that I had ripped out a long time ago and it was practically this same couch. It worked out great. I think it fits in the room perfectly and it is so comfy! What's really cool is now we can watch tv from the front living room and the great room.

I do not like the Tooth Fairy

3:40 AM "Mommy, I think I lost my tooth."
Half asleep, "I'm sure you didn't lose it. It probably fell off the bed."

This was the beginning of over an hour his dramatics. It was after 5 when I fell back to sleep. Good thing I didn't have to work today or I would have been more mad than I already was. He slept until about 9:30 this morning. He comes down the hall and has a sad look on his face. He hopped up in my lap and said the tooth fairy didn't leave him anything. So, here we go to search his bed. We ended up pulling out his bed and the golden dollar left by the tooth fairy was there on the floor. We are going to have to talk to that fairy about leaving it on the shelf instead of under his pillow. ;) Oh well, his sheets needed to be changed anyways. By the way, if you click on the picture and look at the big version, you can kinda see his black eye from the boo-boo from Sunday. I ended up taking him to the doctor today to have him look at it. It had started bleeding again and I was a little bit concerned. It's all fine though. He's never had a band-aid on that long and he was actually having a little bit of reaction to that and the neosporin. The bleeding was more than likely from him not being able to sit still for 5 seconds and being too rambunctious. Note to others with sensitive skin, gauze and paper tape are better for your skin than band-aids.

A little accident

One of the hardest things about being a parent is when your child is sick or injured and deciding at what point do you go to the ER. Almost 2 years ago we went to the ER for fear of a broken finger. Today, Brantley either slipped or tripped, we still are not sure, and busted his head. I know he hit a ceramic planter that was not broken so I was shocked when he got up with blood gushing out of his head. The only thing we could figure out is that he hit the planter and on the way down to the floor, hit the stand that it was sitting on. It had a sort of sharp point but not one that I would have thought would have made the gash he had. It really wasn't that big. We put pressure on it and then when the bleeding subsided we put a cold compress on it. He was so freaked out though and couldn't stand the thought of going to the hospital for stitches. Then, he was complaining his stomach was hurting which worried me. I think it was just from his just eating and then getting so upset. All he wanted to do was go home. So, I sat in the back seat to keep him awake until we got home. Then, as I was cleaning it I noticed how deep it was. I swear I could see the bone under there! It was so small though, I thought they would just laugh at me if we took him in. The wound actually closed up pretty well when I pushed it together so I cleaned it with peroxide, put on some neosporin and closed it with a band-aid.

Our Anniversary

Since Brantley was out of town, we went out to a really nice restaurant for our anniversary. We went to the Stockyard. It was very good and very expensive. I would definitely recommend it for a special occasion where you are not really worried about how much you are spending! I also made a really good meal. I cooked steak, seasoned green beans, and mashed potatoes with carmelized onions. YUM!

Score one for Santa

Santa did a good job this year. I have to say I was worried he was going to be disappointed, but Brantley was very pleased with his remote control Ferrari F50. I think he mostly liked the Santa dollar though. Brantley pretended to faint twice when opening presents at Grandma and Pops house. He got the Vince Young jersey he has been wanting and he got a Fathead of Vince Young. Of course, when he opened the Spongebob sheets from Mom and Dad, we got the 'What the heck.' You mean sheets were not on his wish list? He got tons more gifts in Cookeville, too numerous to list. Merry Christmas everyone!

What are grandmas for?

Why, a shoulder to sleep on of course!

'tis the season to be busy

It's been busy lately. It wouldn't be the holidays if it weren't though. Thought I'd share some more of Brantley's spelling tests. I love how creative he is getting with his sentences.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!!

Brantley got to 100 books today! Everyone congratulate him on being a good reader!

Happy Holidays!

I went to a football game - a story by brant

On December the 23 me and my unkle are going to the tennessee titans.The tennessee titans was very very good.And the tennessee titans win the champenchip game!

by brant



bye Everyone did you like my story




100+100=200

Brantley the Builder...sort of

We were very busy today. Since my dad and sister put a floor in where we used to have stairs, we have to get all the finish work done on our new pantry. I thought we would just get the painting done this weekend, but we managed to get it painted and get the floor down. Brantley helped with both and did a great job.

Daddy helped too.

And, check out this groovy linoleum we found under the old tiles.

What are you thankful for....

Thanksgiving is the time of year where we should all thing about what we are thankful for. There are so many things to be thankful for, but I am most thankful for my sweet little boy. I have been blessed with a wonderful child. I am thankful for him for bringing so much joy into my life.

Quotable Quotes

"Before I was in my mom's tummy, I was invisible scaring people to death."

Now, doesn't that make you scratch your head.

Laughter is the best medicine

Lawson and Brantley were playing Polar Golfer and I heard this laughter coming from the room. I thought to myself, you only laugh like a kid when you are a kid. When he grows up, I won't ever hear this again. So, now I have it so I can hear it whenever I want. I hope it makes you smile as much as me.

Discombobulated

I was helping Brantley read a book that he brought home from school today. The book was very silly. It was about a boy's bed and all the things that were in it. Brantley described the book as discombobulated. I just looked at him and said "What?". I can only assume that his teacher used that word today. He used it right though, it means confused and everything in the book was confused because none of it should have been in the bed.

Brant is very, very cool

My house is vary vary cool also I live with my dad and mom.It is vary vary fun at my house.we are going to be dooen something else.we are gong to the titans they are playing agist carolina.we are going to see the titans win.The titans rock.we are going to see carolina loose.the titans are vary vary fun.the titans are vary vary cool.we are vary vary cool.my dad is vary vary cool.my mom is vary vary cool.my cat is vary vary cool.my house is vary vary cool.



from brant bi for naw.


(Brantley couldn't wait tho get up this morning and type. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.)

A post directly from Brantley (this should be good)

my frieds name is ian.my othrs frieds name is jordnna.I like to play with them.Taey are fun.Thay are vary vary fun.Ther is going to be a new one.I like to play at a park.Parks are fun.my park is vary fun.Parks are fun for kids.Parks are vary fun for me.Ther is going to be a other one wr'er going to the titans game I am going with my dad and my pop and grmom.we are going to have fun.The game is going to be vary vary fun at the going. BiBi thas enough for now.




from brant have a grat weekidn



(That took over an hour!!!! Of course he was wataching tv and eating popcorn while doing it. Already a multitasker. I had to resist the urge to make corrections. Enjoy!)

Spelling

Brantley has been doing very well on his spelling tests. Today's test was an S though. You don't realize how much English words don't make sense until you try to teach a first grader. Included on today's test were the words friend and walk. I had tried to be funny with the word friend by calling it fry end and made a joking sentence with it. I thought he had it but he missed it on the test. I think the reason he missed walk was more of a accent thing. He spelled it wock. Phonetically it works, but it's hard to explain how it is correctly spelled. By the way, Brantley is sitting beside me trying to read this. It's pretty funny.