Brantley's first library card

I'm really not sure why we hadn't already done this, but tonight we went to the public library and got Brantley a library card. He asked me yesterday about going to the library and I decided I needed to encourage the interest. I've never really been an avid reader. My mother says that I started reading when I was three, but I don't remember ever really enjoying reading. I have to have absolute quiet to read. Any distraction just makes me mad and I can't comprehend what I'm reading. I'm more of a numbers person. Give me a book of numbers and I'd probably be able to recite it to you backwards and forwards. Brantley was really excited to get his own card. We spent about a hour picking out his books and he checked them out. He got (and is reading first) Vampire Brat, Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monster of Doom, and Z-Rex The Hunter Book 1. He gets to keep them for 3 weeks. They are actually all big books so I'll be impressed if he finishes them in 3 weeks.

Tarheels lose

It was a disappointing loss for the Tarheels today, but Brantley needed a good loss. They lost 21 to 10. Brantley put up lots of shots, but only two went in. The whole team put up lots of shots, but nothing was going in. Not to mention the other team had all of the tall kids on it. Brantley said after the game it was his fault they lost. I told him he just needed to practice and do better. Hopefully we will get some practice in this week, but the weather is not looking great for driveway practice.

New Year's Day

We didn't get home until about 2 in the morning on New Year's Day. We spent NY's Eve at Ginger's house. We always have a great time, hence not getting home until 2 in the morning. Thanks to Santa, we had a treat on New Year's Day. We got to go see the Harlem Globetrotters. It was pretty cool. My favorite part is when they get in the circle and do all kinds of crazy moves. I think Brantley liked the show. At the end they announced that everyone could get an autograph of their favorite Globetrotter. They had a rope going around the court and people were supposed to stay off the court. Mass chaos ensued. People did stay off the court, but there were not any real defined lines to get autographs so it was just a mass of people trying to get autographs. We bought Brantley a program and we got in a line to get an autograph. As we stood there not moving, a couple of teenagers started to get in the line in front of me. I pointed out to them that we were all standing and line and showed them the end. They of course ignored me and went ahead. They moved on up and they, and another teenager went practically all the way up to the Globetrotter. I wouldn't have been so mad except that their shirts were covered in autographs and Brantley didn't even have one yet so I had to say something to them. The nice lady in front of me pulled Brantley up and put him in front of the teenagers so he could get Airport's autograph. There was only about two minutes left for autographs and it didn't appear that we would get any more, but Brantley somehow managed to sneak in and get Handles autograph. We learned from the program that one of them, Spark, went to Tennessee Tech. He's the one with the 'fro in the pictures.



I also took a few clips. SHHHH! I wasn't supposed to do that.

Harlem Globetrotters - vids

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Brantley thought this Christmas was the best ever! I think he has said that every year. Santa was very good to Brantley. He brought him a freestyle bike, Rock Band for the Wii, Lego Rock Bank, tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters, and several other things. I'd list everything he got from everyone, but I don't know that I could remember everything.

No more cross bite

Brantley had his checkup at the dentist yesterday. He saw my dentist for the first time instead of the pediatric dentist we had been going to. They made me mad the last time he had a checkup so I decided to move him. I didn't force him. I gave him the choice and he wanted to change. He never liked going to the dentist. I had told my dentist that Brantley hated going to the dentist and that he gagged really easily. The hygienist made the visit really fun for him and they used a little trick to keep him from gagging while doing his x-rays. She put a little bit of salt on the tip of his tongue and on the the x-ray things that they put in your mouth. He didn't gag even once. I don't know if there is something scientific about it or if it's all mental, but it worked. He felt like he was eating french fries. The hygienist was so fun and Brantley was having a great time. He even liked the dentist when he came to take a look at his teeth. When Brantley was about 4 his dentist told me he had a cross bite and would need to have braces if his permanent teeth didn't come in better. The other dentist hasn't mentioned it since. So, I asked my dentist about it and he said Brantley's permanent teeth have come in very well and his cross bite has corrected itself. He does have a lot of crowding, but nothing too serious. He will eventually need braces, but probably not for a couple more years at least. As we left Brantley said, "Mom, I want to come back here!" He had a big smile on his face when he said it.

2009 Christmas Photo

Here is the making of our Christmas photo this year.

Quotable Quotes

Brantley: "Mom, come here."

Me: "What?"

B: "Mom, just come here. Look. That present is coming open. I promise I didn't do it."
--It looked like some tape had come loose and the flap on the end had flipped open slightly.

Me: " Well, reach under there and press it closed."

B: "But, I don't want to see what it is!"
--He couldn't see what it was and he did press the flap back down.

Basketball time!

Today was the Tarheels first game, since last Saturday was a bye. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the team played together. I was cracking up at Hunter telling some of the others where they were supposed to be. They only have 3 plays, but a couple of the players can't remember what they are supposed to do. Brantley was the starting point guard. He put up several shots that didn't go in but he didn't let it get to him. He was visibly disappointed with the missed shots, but it just made him more determined. He ended up with 8 points and Hunter had 4. Final score was Tarheels 19, Gators 12.

Seriously...This is just not right.

Brantley's new shoes came today. When I pulled them out of the box, I thought there is no way he can wear these. They have to be too big, which is fine because he could grow into them. I was able to fully insert my foot into said shoe. Granted, they were snug, but I could walk around the house in them. Brantley does have growing room in them, but c'mon. Why can't my waistline be as freakishly small as my feet?

What is Christmas all about?

Today in Brantley's folder was a letter about the holiday plans for not just his class, but all of the third grade classes. Instead of exchanging gifts they are collecting items to donate to two local charities. One is a ministry that has a "store" of sorts where families who qualify can go and get things for Christmas. The other is a non-profit nursing home. So tonight while we were out we bought some items to donate. Brantley helped pick out what we got. A couple in the store overheard what we were talking about. They had recently held a food drive for the ministry and thought what the kids were doing to help out was just wonderful.

Tomorrow is our annual holiday shopping day at my company. This is one of this things that I love about my company. Instead of spending money on a stuffy holiday party they give us each an "angel" to shop for then they bus us all over to Wal-mart to shop. Last year I had the privilege of shopping for two children in need and I believe the company spent about $140,000 on gifts for about 800 children. It's a tradition they started years ago and a wonderful way to give back. I've got my Santa hat ready! Let's do some shopping!

Quotable Quotes

Been a while since I've had one of these...

"Mom! I think I grew today!"

And another...

(from a conversation about his Santa list)
"It's not like you have to pay for them."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I'm pretty sure I've gained about 5 pounds. That, in addition to the 10 I had already gained back means it's back to the diet on Monday. Thursday we headed up to Cookeville to celebrate (I mean EAT) with my family. We took Coco with us so she could run around in the country. Bandit was in his pen and barked like crazy at Coco. I wasn't sure if he wanted to play or attack so he got to stay in his pen for the day. Coco had a blast running around and she passed out in the car on the way home. She remained passed out the rest of the evening. I didn't get any pictures, but we did take some pictures at our house on Saturday. I think I might have cooked my best turkey ever. And, I found a new recipe for cornbread stuffing that I think was awesome. Not sure if anyone else liked it. I also made a green bean salad, ginger maple glazed carrots and pumpkin bread pudding. Dibby made spinach and artichoke dip, cheese dip (just for Brantley), squash casserole and cranberry salad. Melissa brought spinach dip, her famous potato casserole, and chocolate cake for the kiddos. I think I gained another pound just talking about all the food.

I love LA

I was in LA for a whole day! Yippee. Actually, had I known that the music awards were going on. I might have planned differently so I could go star hunting. Yeah right. Anyway, here is a picture from the rooftop pool of the hotel where I stayed. I'm pretty sure the pool was used in the new movie that Brantley has been watching on Nick. The other picture is from the 29th floor of the building where my meeting was.

How do you (or would you for those without kids) punish?

I'm taking a poll. What is your, I don't want to say favorite so let's just say most effective, punishment? I rarely ever spank Brantley, because to be honest he just laughs at me when I do. I am not against spanking, but it's just not effective for me. Taking things away has always been the most effective thing for me. The problem is that you have to be careful with what you take away and you have to make sure that you follow up. Generally, it's TV privileges. But, taking away TV also means that I have to be the entertainer a lot more than usual. This is probably where a sibling would come in handy. Anyway, last night was a bad night at our house. Brantley wasn't listening and was misbehaving. So, I made a bad decision on what to take away. I put him to bed and he wanted me to lay down with him. I told him that he didn't get the things he wanted when he misbehaved the way he did. In hindsight, it was a bad choice on my part but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Thus ensued the 'tantrum' of a life time. Since I already said I wouldn't lay down with him I couldn't go back on it. All he wanted was for me to lay down for a minute, but if I gave in that would compromise my authority (have to follow through with what you say). He got up multiple times after that, each time with a struggle back to bed. Tonight was a much better night, but he gets to watch no TV until Friday and the TV is gone from his room. I'm not sure when that will go back. And, in the absence of TV I taught Brantley to multiple 2 and 3 digit numbers. They are just now working on the tables in class, but it seemed like a good time to teach him. He was receptive and even thought it was cool, especially when I showed him some long division and the relationship between the two.

It's official!

Well, there are 3 things that are official tonight. Since the rain out makeup game that was scheduled for last Saturday was rained out, it was rescheduled for tonight. It was freezing out there but fall baseball is officially over tonight (first official thing!). The Bees won tonight, 13 to 4. So, official thing number 2 is the Bees went undefeated! And, official thing number 3 is Brantley is a switch hitter! He finally decided to try to bat left again tonight. He hasn't tried to hit left since the last practice before games started when he couldn't hit anything, right or left. Tonight, he struck out his first at bat, then had the bad luck of a foul ball caught by the catcher with his second at bat. His fourth at bat went to deep left field. It even bounced up and hit a metal sign on the fence with a nice little bang. For some reason, his last at bat he decided to try hitting left. I'm not sure what got into him, but I'm so glad he tried. He had a great base hit! Another dad commented that his swing is better left than it is right. It's a nice level swing which we always try to tell him to do. To end the season, the team went to have pizza together. I wish we could have this team back together for the Spring, but that won't happen. Not sure what lies ahead for Spring, but I have a feeling Brantley will finally have to get used to losing in the Spring.

Happy Halloween!