* BLT and fries from the Grove Park Inn room service - $23

* Paying someone to break into our own car while on vacation in Asheville - $60

* Waiting for 3 hours at an Asheville Wal-Mart (with a sleepy baby) to get a new car battery - $72

* Replacing a broken gear shifter, fixing the engine, oil leak and whatever the krunk else Ben Mynatt did to our Impala - $1944

Getting our car back and keeping the old gear shifter - PRICELESS

Need Advice!

OK, I'm in need of some advice from all you moms out there. MD's started something new - freaking out in his crib and not wanting to go to sleep alone. Eek!

He's been doing this for a month or so at his 2nd caregiver's place, but not with either my mom or me. Well, a few weeks back he started standing in my mom's crib. Then, last week, with me. Which isn't really the problem - the problem is that the minute we lay him down to sleep, he freaks out and pops up to a standing position and CAN'T GET HIMSELF BACK DOWN!

See, he's not quite walking on his own yet. He can pull up on things and get himself in a standing position but then he can't get himself back down. So, if we let him stand in his crib, in hopes of him laying down on his own and going to sleep, it absolutely won't happen. We've tried.

What we have to do is go in there, lay him down, tuck him in, and put our hand on his chest until he is completely asleep. If he's not 100% asleep, the second we walk away from his crib, he freaks out, stands up and wails.

So, I know he's gotta figure out how to get back down from a standing position on his own - but, is there anything I can do in the meantime? I'm so afraid he's already learned that:

Standing in his crib and crying = mommy comes in and takes care of me!

Ugh!!! I definitely don't want to start that. But, there is absolutely no other way to get him to sleep. And, I can't let him not sleep and/or nap. It's not good for him.

Anyway, any advice you seasoned moms might have would help me tremendously! Even to just say you've been through this. Because, of course, I find myself feeling like I'm the only one and this is going to last forever.

Thanks guys!

MD & Conner's Play Date

Our good buddies, Sean and Marianne, have a very sweet son - Conner - and it had been months since he and MD had seen each other. So, it was time to set up a little play date at our local Chic-fil-A. Marianne, being the good mommy that she is, remembered her camera so she got some great pics of our sweet boys. There's a little over 3 1/2 months difference between the 2 boys so watch out Conner, MD's ready to teach you all the fun stuff he's going to learn!

That Conner's a funny boy

Happy times!

Here, I got something to tell ya...

Hey, me too!

Look, almost the same height ;)

A Few Administrative Things

OK, first, my beloved asked me to mention his new Real Estate blog on my blog. How posh are we, right? I've been linking to it for a while now (on the right) but I'm not sure how many of you look over there. So, for Donnie's thoughts on "Real Estate Stuff" check out his blog at donnieicenhour.blogspot.com.

And, for you Michael Dean fans out there, it's time for you to step up and VOTE! I've entered him in an online contest (along with like 37,000 other kids) to become Parents Magazine's cover baby for their November 2008 issue.

It's a long shot, but what the heck. Everyone keeps telling me to get this kid in front of someone else's camera, besides mommy's. And, I refuse to pay $19.95 to enter the 497 cutest baby ever online contests. So, click on the link below and vote! (Well, you're not exactly "voting". You can "Recommend" and "Rate" his 2 pictures. And, do make sure you vote for both pics!)


Vote for Michael Dean!

Happy 11-Month Birthday, MD!

1 more month until fistfuls of cake...

     

Another First...

The Pool! MD wasn't too fond of the cold pool water. So, maybe after this string of 95 degree days, we'll try it again and it will feel like a big bath tub. Except this time he'll have a diaper on that he can pee in, rather than in his bath water. (Oh, and that glare on your computer is not your monitor - it's me.)

Three Firsts...

Going down a really big slide with daddy:



His very own chocolate ice cream cone:



A big fan blowing out cool mist (on a pretty hot day!):

Not Your Typical Post

After downloading about 200 pictures from my camera today and seeing that I didn’t post a single word about Donnie’s and my anniversary trip to Gatlinburg a month ago (photo above), I realized I needed a “spill” post. I need you all to know I’m not just MD’s mommy. Don’t get me wrong. That’s my favorite role right now, but I do have a very big and busy life outside of my precious son. So, get ready to read…I need this:

• We took our house off the market – yes, it was on the market. We were supposed to buy a house at The Mills in Harrisburg but the community went belly-up and no one wants our house right now. So, we decided to neutralize our kitchen (color: Camel) and install new light fixtures (brushed bronze: very cool.) I also got a shag rug for our living room. Love it. Feels like a new house.

• Not a 24-hour period goes by that I don’t think of and/or dream about my dad. In fact, my dreams are always about him coming back from being gone for a long time. I always know he’s been sick and I’m teaching him how to do things all over again. Like walk, eat, do things around the house. I usually cry when I’m dreaming about him.

• I drive 210+ miles a week to and from work, and that’s only 3 days a week. Gas is killing me. Donnie and I are switching cars but we haven’t done it yet. I think we both, secretly, don’t want to. But, for real, his Impala gets like 10 more miles to the gallon than my sweet Escape. I’m sorry Hunter. We had a good run.

• It took me 7 months to get back to my pre-baby weight. And it took me about 2 months more to lose about 4lbs. more – not on purpose. A lot of my clothes are too big for me now. But, a lot of my shirts are too small for me now. Well, actually they’re too short. I don’t like my clothes anymore but I’m too cheap to buy new ones. Oh, and my C-section scar is barely visible anymore.

• I have so many friends and family that have beautiful kids that I don’t get to see much. Well, I don’t really get to see my friends and family much either. I just don’t have the time (or gas $) and I hate it. About 99% of my time is split between work, my son, laundry, dishes, Wal-Mart trips, constantly straightening up my house and watching Jon & Kate plus 8 after everyone’s been in bed for a while.

• I need Jon & Kate plus 8. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a show on TLC about a family with 2 sets of multiples – twins and sextuplets. It’s mostly about Kate, the mom who stays home with her kids 24/7. I love it. I only have 1 so it makes me feel really good to see someone doing this with 8!

• There’s so many things I want to do but I can’t pull myself away from my son, during the time I’m not at work, to do them. I desperately need a pedicure but I don’t want to get a sitter just for that. I feel selfish. I miss going to movies, but doing that means getting a sitter who will put my son to bed. And something seems to always go wrong when we do that. I also find myself steering away from meals out with my girlfriends, unless I can bring MD - and then I'm usually just tending to him.

• I only wash my hair 2 times a week. It's a very long process and I just don't want to do it that much. So, that's why I wear a lot of pony tails. There's a lot of things I do now, differently, since I've become a mom - but that's actually for a later post.

• I have 4 good friends right now who are pregnant. Three with boys. The other doesn’t know yet! Two of them, this is their 2nd. So, they know everything already. The other 2, this is their first. I want to tell them everything I’ve learned, but I can’t. I don’t want to be “that” kind of person.

• I’m not a money-talker kinda person but I have so many friends and family right now who are struggling with money, us included. Times are tough – especially if you’re self-employed and/or own your own business. Gas is just ridiculous. Prices for essentials have gone up – I mean I’ve watched the price of groceries quickly creep up. It’s affecting the way we all do things. It’s scary. It’s kept us from expanding our living space so our sweet son can have more space to play.

• I don’t tell my husband enough that I love him. I tell my son like 4,982 times a day but I tell my husband about 2 times a day – when he leaves for work and when we go to bed. I’m sorry, Donnie. I do love you (+ 4,980).

• I'm really not sure if I have many readers. I know I have my faithful 3 – Merissa, Gigi and Mel. But, I have no idea who else looks at this. So, really, I guess I just do this for me – and my 3. But, for real, please comment if you do actually read this :)

Ok, I really could go on. But, I’m sure you’ve already stopped reading so I need to stop kidding myself! Now, back to posting about my sweet one – my lucky star.