Coco Chanel Freeman

Please welcome the newest member of the family. We dropped her off at the vet yesterday so she could be spayed and also have a microchip implanted. (Hey, I'm not spending all this money on her and have her get lost!) She stayed the night and we picked her up this morning. The vet complimented her on being so well behaved. She even had a bath without any problems and looked so happy when the vet brought her out. They tied the cute bandanna on her. We are supposed to keep her from being too active for the next couple of days. It seemed really hot in the garage so I let her in the basement. We can close the door and keep her pretty confined. So far, I must say that I think she is house trained. She has to take an antibiotic and a pain med for a few days. It's much easier to give her medicine that it is our cat. With the cat, you can shove it half-way down her throat and she's still not going to take it. For the dog, we have these treats that you put the medicine in. She loves them! That was even easier than giving medicine to Brantley. Brantley is getting used to her but he's still not very confident with her. But that didn't stop him from napping with her this afternoon.

Dog Update

The dog is definitely not used to being on a cable. She keeps getting tangled up. Yesterday, she got wrapped around one of my rose bushes that I planted earlier this year and ripped it out of the ground. I went out to replant it - in the rain I might add - and she was all excited and was running around. She ran all around me and the cable caught me behind the ankles and down I went. Not a pretty sight. Today, she was wrapped around the rose bush again. I saw it when I got home and it was still in the ground. But, she was so excited to see me, out it came again. So, I replanted it, once again. I think it will be okay since the ground was so muddy from all the rain recently. I think the root cause of her getting tangled around it is that she likes to drink out of the bird bath. No matter that she has clean water specifically for her, she prefers the bird bath. So, I moved the bird bath in hopes of preserving my rose bush. We'll see what happens.

On another note, it looks like Brantley has decided on Coco Chanel for the dog's name. When we were thinking about Cocoa as a name, Grandma had asked me if were going to spell it like Cocoa or like Coco Chanel. Brantley had already been asking what the dog's middle name was going to be, so when I told him the name Coco Chanel, he liked it. He's been calling her Coco and sometimes Brown Dog. She really doesn't answer to either though. Once the weather gets better, I'll take some more pictures of her.

We have a dog.

Well, I guess it's official. We are keeping the dog. We took her to the vet this morning and she received a clean bill of health. This was a totally different experience from taking the cats to the vet. We quit taking them a long time ago because it was so traumatic for them, and us. They were always inside and healthy so we didn't feel like we had to put them through that. Scrappy had to be muzzled and would cower growling in the corner if she got down. Pudge wasn't as bad, but they would be mad at us for a week after visiting the vet. The dog was so well behaved. We put her on the leash and let her sit in the back of the CRV. I sat in the back seat and held on to her leash to make sure she stayed in the back. She was a little nervous a first. When we got to the vet, she didn't even let Lawson open the gate, she just jumped out of the window. Not exactly what we had in mind, but she was fine. We found a really nice vet. I went online to find a close one. We thought about going back to where we took Scrappy when she died, but I wasn't really impressed with that place. It wasn't bad I guess, just not the best time to have your first visit somewhere. I liked this new place as soon as I walked in. They had a cage inside the office that had a chinchilla in it. And, the vet had a parrot in her office that would say "Hello Joe." She and her assistant were really nice and the dog took right to them. Actually, I don't think this dog would not get along with anyone. She has such a nice temperment. They took blood and a sample with no problem. She sat up on the table and was just as still as should could by while the vet examined her. She got her shots, flea/tick/worm treatments, and even let the vet clean her ears. I told Brantley the dog was better at the doctor than he is. We guessed wrong on her weight. She weighs 46 pounds. The vet thinks she is a British Labrador and doesn't think she is a mix. She said 3 years old max, probably closer to 2. Because she is post-partum, her fur is thinner and coarser than normal. She's also a bit thinner, but her fur and weight should return to normal once she's on a good food for a while. Another thing I liked about this vet was she didn't push the special foods that you can only get from the vet. She suggested Iams Adult dog food and she said no cat food. They love cat food but it can cause renal failure. I didn't know that. So, we'll most likely be taking her next week to get her spayed. They will also implant a chip while she is under for the surgery. With all the money we are going to end up spending, I'm thinking a chip is a good idea. On a side note, the vet did scan her for a chip and didn't find one. She agreed with us that the dog has been well taken care of. I hope that we don't do all of this, get attached to the dog, and her owner show up. Guess I should take the posting down.

On to other matters, we have to decide on a name. She doesn't really answer to anything yet. I guess she will get used to whatever name we choose. Brantley and I both like Cocoa, but Lawson doesn't. Here's what we have so far:

Brown Dog
Brownie
Cocoa (suggested by Carroll and Rosemarie)
Nicey (Brantley's original)

Help us decide. Make some suggestions!

Dog?

Well, a stray dog has claimed us. I've put her picture out trying to find her home, but no one has claimed her, not that I really expected anyone to. She's a really sweet dog, and well behaved. She's not so big that I can't handle her, but she's not small. She loves to play fetch. We've been calling her brown dog - remember yellow dog from Funny Farm? Brantley really seems to like her and he's trying to learn how to handle her. If we keep her, we need a name. Any suggestions?

That ain't no hummingbird...

I figured out what it is. It's a female downy woodpecker.

School year off to a great start....

Today was the first full day of school. I opened the front part of Brantley's back pack and it was wet. Why would it be wet? Nothing else was in the front part. Then I opened the back part and pulled out his daily folder, his brand new planner to keep track of his assignments, and a water bottle that wasn't completely closed. His project folder was ruined, but that's okay because I can get a new one - it's just a manila folder. His planner was soaked on the bottom. The planner was given to him at school. I went online and it seems I can't order one or get one anywhere. I emailed his teacher hoping the school has an extra we can buy. Then, I spent 45 minutes with a hair dryer drying the pages. Now, the pages are are crinkled at the bottom and won't lay flat. That's what happens when books get wet I told Brantley. He's devastated. He took it to his room and piled as many things as he could think on top of it to try to flatten it. Hopefully, he has learned his lesson (and we can get a new one!).

Vacation

I can't believe I have not posted in a month! July was pretty busy for us. But, summer is now over...school starts back tomorrow. We spent last week in Florida. It was hot and crowded everywhere! We went to the beach a couple times, Busch Gardens twice, and we went to Lowery Park Zoo. We also spent a lot of time in the pool at my aunt's condo. Lawson and Brantley got to go to a Rays game which was pretty cool.

I think Brantley's favorite part was getting wet at Busch gardens. Unfortunately, Brantley is 47 and a half inches tall (with shoes ;)). Had he been 48 inches, he could have gotten on a lot more rides. He did get to ride his first roller coaster, which I recorded with the video camera. Lawson is in charge of the videos, so I'll have to get him to post it. It was the scorpion, which I believe was the first roller coaster I ever rode. And, there were a couple rides that you could stand out side and get wet.

The thing I like about Busch Gardens is that it's also a zoo. We took the train around the Serengeti and this Rhino was so close to us, I thought he was going to charge us. They stopped the train so the Rhinos could move; they have the right of way. There was also a baby rhino that was just a couple months old.

Brantley is a total fish and loves the water. We swam a lot in the pool, and we did get in the ocean some. Here is my little surfer boy. (Click here to see the rest of our vacation photos.)

Happy Birthday Brantley!

Someone's moving in...

Since I don't have any hummingbirds coming to visit the feeders, I decided to put up a bird house. I thought it was too late for anyone to move it this year, but check it out. This happened within a week of putting it up.

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!