Couple Quick Pics

Connor lounging in his chair. He used to sit in his chair for a few seconds here or there. Now, he is loving the chair and curls up with a book or the remote (or both) and just lounges. Since we have Directv (which is so wonderful btw) we can give Connor the actual TV remote (without having to take out the batteries) and with just a quick slide Connor can't change the channel!

Connor inspecting the lazy gate(and ya'll he really does inspect our gates to see how it works, etc). It is called the lazy gate because it only keeps Connor from going down the hallway to the bedrooms. There is no reason he can't go down there - we simply don't feel like always running after him - and running is the truth. Today, he actually tried to kick his leg over the gate. Clearly, that didn't work this time but we may have to either 1) get a taller lazy gate or 2) stop being lazy.

Sneak Peek a Boo for Halloween

Day Trip

Ok, so I am finally going to post some pictures. Connor and I went up to visit my grandmother - my mom and aunt went too. Connor had a great time - learning to type on the typewriter . . . show off drinking from this new straw sippy cup (he is very good at drinking from a straw now) . . and playing catch (well, I held his arms to help him catch - but as you will see from his face - he loved it) . . .
My grandmother taught me to type on the same typewriter. Since I can type without looking at the keys - I think she did a pretty good job. Hopefully Connor will learn the same way too!

Daylight Savings Time

So previously I blogged before about my horrendous experience with the MVA in Maryland. I looked back to give a link and it turns out it was the Daylight Savings Time post. So, in honor/ coincidence of turning back the clocks this weekend, I will share my most recent experience with the government. {Prior Post} http://moorplease.blogspot.com/2008/11/daylight-savings-time.html

So you may or may not recall that Maryland required that I keep my first, middle maiden and married names as my full name. I could have dropped my maiden name and gone with first, middle and married names and kept just three but if I wanted to keep the maiden name I had to keep all of them. For SO many reasons I wanted to keep my maiden name (as my middle name) - but one of the better reasons and easiest to explain is that with the maiden name I have WAY better initials. We love monograms in the south - if you need a further explanation just let me know - I will be happy to expound on the subject (warning: soapbox topic).

So, I showed up at the DMV a couple weeks ago to get my license and register our cars here. It order to register the cars, I needed a license so I proceeded to the license line first. A "cop" shouted out commands to us in line and part of that rant included "If you are here for a transfer of license you need to be sitting over here" Of course, I had to ask - "What do you mean by, transfer?" Her response was what you might of guessed "I mean, if you are transferring your license." What?? Still not sure if I should get out of line and move over to the pews set up in the room with the words "Testing" above them or stay in the line that says "Driver's License". I had to know though - so I asked again. She clarified her response by saying "I mean if you are transferring your license to Alabama from another state". Oh, ok, that's me - and BTW a few other people in line who were eagerly awaiting a real answer to my question. I got out of line and moved over to my space in line on the pew. She demanded then that we produce our documents to show we were capable obtaining a license today. I must skip over some of the side stories/ shows that were happening because otherwise this post would take ALL night. When she came by to "inspect" (her words) my documents she said "Why does your license have all these names?" My response "Because Maryland is ignorant." She laughed and said - we are getting rid of that middle name/ initial maaaamm. "That is ignorant!" And suddenly, my day of standing in lines to register vehicles while my mom sits outside in the car with Connor (we had to have both vehicles present) is WONDERFUL! YIPPEE! I am back to 3 names and I made friends with the crazy cop lady barking orders! Who would have thought going to the DMV would have turned out to be such a great day!

never know when you will need a Snuggie

Connor now says "hot, hot" in a whisper voice when he sees anything that comes from the microwave, oven, or stove. pretty smart and cute!
Last week was not HOT. We have REALLY bad luck when it comes to heating our houses. when colin moved into his first place there was NO heat. Why? well, we thought we did everything right. we called BGE and asked them to change over the service into Colin's name 72 hours in advance of the move-in date. after several angry phone calls to BGE we discovered that the prior owner had a dispute with BGE over his bill and that is why BGE failed to change over the service at our request. how is this our problem?? after several more phone calls we (I) convinced the manager that we deserved to have the heat on (since it was Nov. 1) and COLD and the dispute wasn't "our" dispute. we spent thousands of dollars over the next few years "servicing" the HVAC unit and realizing why the prior owner had a dispute. colin's first bill was over $500.00! Yikes!
this time we thought we were smarter and wiser so we asked the sellers to have the HVAC unit serviced and in working condition before we settled on the house. so you can guess what happened last sunday night when I innocently flipped the switch from a/c to heat. That's right -- NOTHING!!! nothing happened. we woke up Monday morning to a 64 degree house. Which isn't cold, cold but cold enough with a 14 month old who can't really sleep with blankets. And, since Connor was having trouble sleeping Sunday night anyway, I was camped out on his floor with a comfy but small blanket. At 4 am I was freezing and knew he was too so I got a blanket on Connor and pulled out the Snuggie for myself. Thank goodness for the Snuggie!! I was certain I was going to turn into an ice cube at 64 degrees! So anyway, the repair guy came today (it was 70 outside) and did his thing. We now have heat and luckily since we live in better weather now - we probably won't really need it for awhile again.

We found some outdoor furniture (I am picking it up tomorrow, yea!) and hoping that our yard will be finished before it rains again on Friday. So, I can finally post before and after pics. (Still haven't taken the pics though so it will have to wait for another post).

Friday Night Lights . . .

So, it stopped raining. Wonderful - now it is just cold (but better cold than raining). My mom and I were scheduled to take a photography class for infants and children tomorrow at the botanical gardens. I was really exicted for the class and to spend time with my mom and learn more about my new camera. I arrived home this afternoon to a message : Class Cancelled for lack of interest. Boo hoo. Instead tomorrow we will be shopping for patio furniture (you know Colin is thrilled!). New deck/ patio/ yard pictures coming soon (as soon as the yard is finished) - estimate is next week if the rains holds off. Here are some pics from a recent trip to the Botanical Gardens.




Our Friday night has consisted of making baby macaroni and cheese with broccoli. Ok, so it was delicious and so easy. Playing with Connor and putting him to bed. We are currently listening on the radio to my high school team playing their rival (Hoover) you may know the tv show on MTV (Two-a-Days). Well, we were up 20-0 at the half. The game is now a 3 point game with 30 seconds left . . . Agonizing to have to listen (rather than watch). Luckily we ended the game by sacking the quarterback (apparently - the announcers were totally pro-Hoover) so they didn't say "sack" but we will assume sack! Yippeee! Go Rebels!

rain rain go away . . . connor is 14 months old today!

it has been raining FOREVER. ok, maybe not forever but we have gotten almost 4 inches of rain this month! luckily it will stop for a few hours most days so we can get out for a walk. the weekend forecast is promising - no rain - but COLD weather. Connor's next ((scheduled) - don't want to jinx his health) -- doctors appointment isn't until 15 months but he is weighing in at 25 pounds with shoes and diaper on. He is talking more and more each day. He can now tell you what Aubie says "Beow" (i.e. "Meow" but Connor thinks it starts with a "B"), what the fishy says and what a gorilla does. Our favorite semi-new "trick" is when Colin or I sit in the "Connor Chair" (see 13 months old today post) - Connor will come and physically remove us from the chair - he is a strong buddy! Connor then climbs in his chair, smiles and points out his name written on the chair to "show" us - this is his chair - STAY OUT. Pics to follow later (hopefully today) - nap time is calling. . .