I’m just elated after last night’s Golden Globe awards! Y’all know I’m obsessed with Glee. It’s brilliantly written, the singers are fantastic, and it gives me my Broadway and pop music fix every week.

Well two of my favorite things of the night were:

1) The beautiful Lea Michele in her fantastic Oscar de la Renta gown. Some people say she should have worn a more age appropriate dress, but geez. For her first Golden Globes appearance, I say, “bravo” to Lea. Strut that big Oscar masterpiece! She looked fantastic. It’s a shame she can’t just walk around singing all the time. I’d listen!

2.) Glee won the Golden Globe for Best Musical or Comedy Television Series. I hope this means that Glee is here to stay. Good thing Jay Leno isn’t on FOX!

My new obsession (I’m late to this party), Mad Men, won top honors in its category. So it was a pretty great night! It’s wonderful to see so many beautiful gowns in one location!

This is the end! Last set of questions… these are the randoms that didn’t exactly fit into another category.

Is there a story behind your engagement ring? It looks like it is estate…beautiful!

There’s not a story behind the engagement ring. We did go ring shopping and my setting wasn’t one that was on display. After about 30 minutes, the salesgirl came out and said, “Here’s one where we just set the diamond. What do you think?” I loved it. It was so gorgeous. I knew that I wanted a ring that was an estate replica and that’s what I found. I wanted a couple of things changed about the one in the showroom and Todd says it took a few months for the ring to get ordered, get made, and get back to him. I love it!

Now that you have Hudson, how do the dogs play out in your family dynamic? I’m kind of nervous about that one…

The dogs didn’t pay him much attention at first, but now it’s good. We have to tell them to get back or stop licking him every once in a while, but he loves them. He reaches out to pet them now. And he cracks up every time Boudreaux barks or growls at something outside. So funny!

If you could host your own show, what would it be about? (talk show, design, wedding, etc)

Hmm… such a fun question! It would be fun to a host a wedding show, but I think I’d pick a design show!

I think I may have noticed on twitter (maybe?) that you’re going to the Carrie Underwood concert in May (me too!)…so here’s my question. Who else would you love to see in concert?

We are going to the Carrie Underwood concert on May 1. I’m beyond excited. She is my absolute favorite and I just can’t wait. We’re also seeing Jimmy Buffett on February 23 as part of Todd’s birthday celebration. I’ve been fortunate enough to see most of my favorites in concert: The Eagles, Elton John, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, Crosby Stills and Nash, DMB, Coldplay and many others that aren’t quite so “classic.”

I’d love to see U2 and The Rolling Stones in concert someday!

I would love to hear about your wedding registry! What is your formal china pattern and your silver pattern?

Our every day pattern is Juliska “Thread and Berry.” We got chargers, salad plates, and some serving pieces in green. We got all the other pieces in white. I love the contrast!

Our formal pattern is Vera Wang Wedgwood “Vera Lace.” We have Waterford Lismore with platinum rims for our crystal. I didn’t register for silver because my mom has a full set, Todd’s mom has a full set, and Todd’s grandmother has a full set. Someone will gift us with some silver someday.

Do you think y’all will stay in the Shandon area or move to the suburbs eventually? It’s something that I constantly think about even though I don’t have kids yet. All of our friends live downtown…but I would prefer my kids to go to school in the area I grew up in.

We absolutely love the Shandon area. More specifically, we’re in the Wales Garden area, but I do love our neighborhood. It’s great for walking the dog and pushing the stroller. We have great neighbors. We can stroll down to Starbucks on Saturday mornings. It’s close to everything. We do love the area and we do love our house.

We’re very well aware that we can get a lot more house if we move to the suburbs and it’s very tempting. We want more kids and we’ll need more space eventually. We’re zoned for great public schools and there are great public schools in the suburbs. There are also great private schools in Columbia. We don’t know what we’re going to do about schools yet, but we’re going to be prepared and make sure that we live in an area where we’re happy with the public school situation.

How do you get things done? That is a very vague question, but I mean do you have a to-do list and tackle things one at a time? Or just a general idea in your head of things you need to do this week? What keeps you motivated?

I pride myself on being very organized! Todd might say that I’m organized to a fault. I’ve learned to leave room for spontaneity.

I use my trusty MomAgenda to write everything down. I plan our meals and have running to do lists. Now that I’m so carefully counting points for Weight Watchers, I also keep up with this in my MomAgenda.

Hudson keeps me motivated. I want to be the best mommy that I can be and the best wife that I can be.

What are some of your favorite hostess gifts? I know you’ve mentioned candles before, but I’d love some other suggestions as well!

I think a bottle of wine, a yummy candle, or a bouquet of flowers are a great hostess gift. My only issue with flowers is that the hostess usually has to stop what he or she is doing to properly care for the flowers. I prefer low maintenance gifts like some dessert, a bottle of wine, or a candle.

I love your blog! I was curious if you are selling any of your maternity clothes? I am in need of some chic expecting mommy style and didn’t know if you would consider parting with your trendy mommy threads? What were your favorite maternity items? What are your must-have items?

I’m not selling any of my maternity clothes because I plan to wear them again with the next pregnancy. But I think the best thing to purchase for yourself while you’re pregnant is a pair of your regular jeans in maternity style. There’s nothing that makes you feel more like your usual stylish self than a great pair of jeans. I got my 7evens and Citizens of Humanity jeans in a great maternity pair and they lasted the entire pregnancy. Such great buys!

My question is if you ever receive any negative comments on your blog and how you handle them? I struggle with making our blog private and leaving it open because very rarely i will get a weird annonymous comment that is border-line rude. Does this ever happen to you?

I do get the occasional negative comment. It’s never fun. I’m a very sensitive person. It never makes sense to me why someone would take the time to tell me I did something wrong in my pregnancy or delivery. Or to tell me to “get over myself.” Someone emailed me once just to tell me that I was “self-important and hedonistic.” That one really hurt my feelings. Then there was the comment that said that one of Hudson’s newborn photos looked like we were neglecting him.

I don’t ever leave negative comments. My general thought is to just move on if you don’t like what you’re reading on a blog. I especially don’t like the anonymous negative comments. But, what can you do? WordPress doesn’t have an options for you to block anonymous comments like Blogger does.

Sometimes I respond to negative comments via email and sometimes I just ignore it. Most of the comments are personal and I can get a little defensive.

I absolutely love the photos that Tracy Turpen did of your family! I looked at her website, and I am blown away! How did you find her? I am looking for a photographer in the Raleigh, NC area to do some pics this summer, and I am having the hardest time. I am spoiled now that I have seen Tracy’s photos! If you could give me any tips on finding a photographer, I would REALLY appreciate it.

All of the photographers that I’ve ever hired have traveled to come to where we are. That is always an option!

We used Kelly Moore for our wedding and engagement photos. Kelly has a friend named Millie Holloman who is an amazing photographer out of various cities in North Carolina– including Raleigh. She has a team of four or five photographers. Millie came to Columbia to take our newborn photos.

I was talking to Ami at Elizabeth Anne Designs one night about local photographers and she told me about Tracy Turpen out of Charleston. We were beyond impressed with Tracy!

Some good resources for searching for photographers in your area are the EAD Vendor Guide and the Style Me Pretty Little Black Book. You can look for all kinds of vendors with these resources.

What’s your favorite cookbook?

Wow! So many. I’m in love with Junior League cookbooks. My favorites are from places that I’ve lived: River Road Recipes, The Cotton Country Cookbook, and Down By The Water.

I also love all of Ina Garten’s cookbooks. Right now I’m living out of the Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast cookbook because it’s good for me!

How long have you been blogging and how did you build such an amazing community…I just started and I am curious how to build it because I love the interaction and suggestions of making “blog” friends…

I started blogging in September 2007 because we were planning a wedding. About six months later I got my first comment from someone I had never met!

I began commenting on other blogs that I found and then people start linking back to your blog when they read comments and eventually come out of hiding. I also submitted some boards to Style Me Pretty and Abby linked to my blog. That’s how I met Cyndi of Southern Daze!

Eventually others started reading, there was mutual commenting, and friendships were born. Comments lead to emails, g-chats, and tweets and before you know it you’re flying to fun cities to hang out with your blog friends!

(This one is from my best friend!) If you had to pick ONE song that brings you back to our Columbia (or college) days together, what would it be, and what were we doing? NO you can’t pick Sangria Wine!

We used to dance around our house and apartment to Sangria Wine! So much fun!

My one song– I’m going to pick two– is Man In Motion (St. Elmo’s Fire) or The Finer Things!

So when do you and Todd plan on having another child? How close together would you like to them to be?

We’re not sure yet. We think about it, but then I just think I’m not ready to try to handle two of them! I’d like for them to be close together in age, but I also don’t want to bite off more than I can chew. Maybe when Hudson is 2 years old…

Were you and your husband on the same page as to WHEN to have children? I see so many women who are ready, but their husbands aren’t quite there (especially when they are within a year of the same age). Did you and your hubby discuss this before marriage?

We discussed it a little bit before marriaged. We had planned to wait two years before getting pregnant, but…. Y’all know we got married in May 2008 and Hudson was born in June 2009. So we didn’t wait two years.

I’ve asked Todd before, if our little miracle accident hadn’t happened if he ever would have told me when he was ready to have a baby. He said, “Eh. Probably not. I’m not sure I ever would have thought I was ready.” I think it’s just a guy thing. He’s ready now and he’s an amazing Daddy.

I have a random, for fun question: if your house was on fire, what 5 things would you run out the door with? Humans and pets not counting!

I’d grab our camera bags (video and Canon Rebel) that hold our cameras and all the memory cards. I’d grab my baby book and a box of photos in our closet. Everything else is replaceable, but those photos and memories are completely priceless.

As a fellow Erin, what is your middle name? And what sort of names do people incorrectly call you over the phone, email (probably either telemarketers or working world emails.)

Hilarious. I’ve been called Ernie and Irwin before. People often misspell it and write “Aaron.”

My middle name is Elizabeth, but I dropped it in favor of my maiden name as my middle name.

How did you meet your husband? How long did you date? How did you know that TC was the one?

Todd and I met while we were both working at the law firm where he worked before going out on his own. He came by my desk and we talked and I thought, “Hmm. I’d like to see him again.”

We started dating in December 2005 and got engaged in April 2007.

I know it’s cliche, but I just knew that he was the one. I knew before our first date. He was so kind and funny. He’s the wittiest person I’ve ever met– and I’m not the only one who thinks that. I knew we had a lot in common before our first date because we spent months emailing before going on our first date. The night of our first date, I said to my friend, “This is the last first date I’ll ever go on.” And it was.

I would love to know where you get your bedding, I really like your style! Where did you go to college and how did it decide it was the right place for you?

I got the bedding for our bedroom from Eastern Accents. It’s part of their limited edition “hotel style” collection. I love its simplicity while still having gorgeous colors!

I mentioned that I went to Louisiana Tech. I chose it because it felt like home. It sort of was home. We moved around a lot, but Ruston is the closest thing to a hometown for me. We lived there for five years when I was growing up. My parents also attended and met at Louisiana Tech. And my grandmother went to Louisiana Tech. It’s truly a family place for me.

What is your favorite “everyday indulgence” while you still stay healthy? I recently discovered dried figs; they are like candy.

I love snacking on the Mister Salty 100 Calorie packs of chocolate covered pretzels. So satisfying!

I have a legal internship in Columbia this summer…do you have any ideas on fun things to do, or good restaurants I must try while I am there?

You must visit the Riverbanks Zoo. My favorite restaurants are Mr. Friendly’s, Garibaldi Cafe, Rockaways, The Gourmet Shop, Rosso, Ristorante Divino, and many, many more! You must go shopping in Five Points and on Devine Street.  And I’d love to hang out while you’re here!

What is the best vacation you have been on/what was your favorite vacation? Where would you go if you could go anywhere?

My two favorite vacations were our honeymoon on Maui at the Grand Wailea and when I backpacked for 40 days around Europe with my best friend. So many countries and cities in such a perfect amount of time.

Hopefully we’ll go to Greece soon! It’s near the top of my list. And Napa Valley.

What is your least favorite holiday? What is your favorite holiday?

I’d have to say that it’s New Year’s Eve! My favorite is either Thanksgiving or Christmas. I love family-centered holidays.

Do you make money on this blog? How so?

I signed up with Share a Sale a few months ago. All the “ads” you see in the right sidebar are from Share a Sale. If anyone clicks on the images, they are taken to that company’s website. If you buy something during that visit, I get a percentage of the sale. I have made a very minimal amount of money in the last couple of months, but it’s good to make some money.

When signing up with WordPress and purchasing my domain and paying a company to host my blog, I have had to pay a good amount of money to do all of that. The sales help cover that a little bit. I still haven’t made enough through the “ads” to pay for all of that, though, so please don’t think that I’m bringing in the big bucks!

What is your favorite diet food?

I love Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones. I can’t help it!

What is your favorite piece of jewelry that you own other than your engagement ring?

Probably my David Yurman pearl ring that was my “push present.”

What do you love about your hometown? What do you miss about your hometown? What do you love about Columbia?

I miss a lot about Ruston. There are some wonderful little restaurants there like Ponchatoulas, The Dawg House, Papa Joe’s, and Monjuni’s. I miss the food. I miss the people. A lot. Some of my good friends (some that read this blog) stayed there after college and I miss them so much! I msis the times that I had there in college with my friends.

Columbia… I love the blend of the capital city with the college town. It’s a good mix. I love having college students around. I think it keeps the city young. I love our church and there is a lot of good food here, too. I wish my family was a lot closer, but it’s a good place to live.

What is your favorite book of all time? Favorite character?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett and Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Can you give me info on moving from Blogger to WordPress and having your own domain?

I am definitely not an expert and I got a lot of help from Mojito Maven of Make Mine a Mojito. But the first thing I did was purchase my domain. Then I went to BSP Hosting to select my hosting package. Through there, you register your domain and there are WordPress plug-ins to turn your dot com into a WordPress blog. Then, there are theme options with WordPress and we chose the “Thesis” theme. (You can get more info and purchase the Thesis theme at Make Mine a Mojito.)

Lots of steps and I know nothing about HTML. The Mojito family did a lot to get my blog set up and running. The talented Ashley Brooke of Ashley Brooke Designs did my header.

But once it is all set up and running, WordPress is great to use! There are so many options for your blog and you can have many pages. It was great timing for me because I wanted to do so much more when Hudson was born.

How and when did you get involved in Junior League? What do you love about it?

I joined the Junior League of Columbia in 2006. I absolutely love my placement (committee). I’ve made some great friends and I was fortunate enough to find a placement that I loved. I’ve stuck with this placement for three years and will do it again this year for my fourth year.

I love that we’re able to give back to Columbia in such a big way. I love that each woman is able to find a way to use her talents to give back through various placements.

Did you make a wedding album of photos or stick to framed shots around the house. If you DID make an album- did you go through your photographer, a separate graphic artist, or do you own online? If so, any hints, tips or suggestions? I’m a little overwhelmed with my 3000+ photos, the choices & the costs!

We got such an amazing deal. My wedding photography package included everything: our engagement session and an album, my bridal session and an album, and 6 hours of wedding coverage and an album. The included album had every single photograph in it–printed on the page. None of this “proof” size photo nonsense. What do you do with that many proofs anyway?  We ordered a more coffee table friendly album that was beautifully designed. I featured it on the blog abotu a year ago. It’s truly a masterpiece. Kelly Moore (our photographer) designed that one and had it printed, too.

Our package also included a handful of prints in various sizes from all of our sessions. Then I just ordered more for the wall.

I told you we got a great deal!

This was fun, friends!

 

Are you bored yet? Hopefully there’s a little something for everyone in all of these Q&A sessions. If you haven’t found anything that you’re interested in, have faith. There’s a new week ahead and Friday will be my last day answering the questions! This has been a lot of fun for me, though.

Health and Beauty

Erin, I’d love to know what you do to keep your face glowing – your hair so healthy & shiny – and your figure so trim. You look like the picture of a happy healthy mom. And I’d love to glow too.

Can I just say that this question flatters and surprises me to no end? I have struggled with my skin for so many years and even the slightest flaw now makes me worry that a whole village of flaws is coming soon. My worst skin years were my sophomore year of college, but a change in diet, skin care, and some medicine have helped.

I didn’t have a single blemish when I was pregnant. The pre-natal vitamins made me sick, but I took Flintstones vitamins throughout the pregnancy. I started on the pre-natals in the third trimester when I could tolerate them. My hair also grew about a mile during that time, too.

These days, I just wash my face twice a day with Bliss products and then use the Galvanic Spa system three times per week. I drink a lot of water and try to keep my hair off my face as much as possible.

I use all Aveda products for my hair. I use Color Conserve shampoo and conditioner once a week. And then I use Dry Remedy (because I have very course hair) shampoo and conditioner once a week. Confession: I only wash my hair twice per week. That may have something to do with having healthy hair. It’s so dry and course that I find it getes too dry if I shampoo too often. There. I said it! My “dirty” secret is out.

As far as my figure goes… I’d hardly call it trim. But thank you for the compliment. I’m working very hard these days to get it back.

What is your favorite diet food?

I love Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones. I like cooking from the Cooking Light and Biggest Loser cookbooks, but it’s just easy to pop in a Smart Ones. My favorites are Creamy Rigatoni with Broccoli and Chicken and Three Cheese Ziti Marinara. Yum.

How’s the running going? Are you ready for the race?

It’s going. I hurt my knee a few weeks ago, so I was a little discouraged. I’ve been doing Body Pump classes and spending a lot of time on the elliptical in hopes to stretch my leg out and get some of my strength back. I hope to be ready for the race. The whole thought of it intimidates me, to be honest.

What ever happened to Weight Watchers Wednesdays?

I’m still following Weight Watchers– more strictly in 2010 than I was in 2009. I will occasionally post about it, but it’s too hard for me to always devote Wednesdays to Weight Watchers. I like to keep my blog a little more open than that. But I promise to post recipes and give updates when there’s something worth posting about!

I saw you wrote about having a breast reduction. What made you want that?

Well, I think that would be a little obvious, but I had a breast reduction because I felt like my breasts were too big for my body. They got in the way. They dictated what I wore. I had the surgery the year I graduated from college and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. My insurance covered it, so it wasn’t a financial burden. When I was in the 8th grade I remember my friends talking about them. Not ABOUT me or around me, but they were always a topic of conversation and that can get old after a while.

College life, Sorority, Working Girl

Where did you go to college? Were you an Alpha Chi Omega? Are you involved with the local alumni chapter?

I went to Louisiana Tech in Ruston, Louisiana. (Go Bulldogs!) It was a great college experience in a town that I love dearly. I was an Alpha Chi Omega and was even the President. I’m not involved with the local chapter or alumni chapter. Things are a little busy, but I’d definitely consider getting involved someday.

What was your job before you were a SAHM?

I was an Events Planner for a college at the University of South Carolina.

What is your dream job? Will you go back to work someday?

My dream job is to be a successful wedding planner. But I’m not sure that I have the drive to work and sacrifice time with my family to do that someday. I really don’t know if I’ll go back to work someday. The time that I most want to be home is when my kids come home from school. So maybe something part time? Or something on my own out of the home? Wedding planning? Yes, please!

Wedding Stuff

Did you ever sell your wedding dress?

I thought long and hard about it, but I never did it. The economy took a hard turn and I didn’t feel like I’d be able to get back the money that I thought my dress was worth. I’m not attached to my dress, but I don’t want to sell it for just $500 when I know what I paid for it. I had it professionally cleaned and spent a good amount of money on that, too. It’s safely in its box, freshly cleaned, under a bed in our house. I may never open the box for fear of having to have it cleaned again. And if someone does want it and wants to discuss purchasing it, we can definitely talk about it. I realize my chances aren’t great any more now that the dress is almost 3 years old. I purchased it in May 2007 for my May 2008 wedding. I do love it! (and for those new to the blog it’s a Carolina Herrera dress.)

What is your favorite wedding portrait?

Is it vain if I say my favorites of just of me? Two of them are from my bridal portrait session and one is from the wedding day. {all by Kelly Moore Photography}

What are your favorite colors for weddings? Have you made any color/inspiration boards lately? What do you think about purple and red? Would you make an inspiration board for me?

My favorite wedding colors vary. I think they should be representative of the couple. I used pink and gold and they were so “Erin.” I love marigold, purple, yellow, pale greens, gold.

I haven’t made any color boards lately, but here are some of my old favorites. I used to have access to Photoshop and it was so much fun to play around and make the boards. I need Photoshop again so I can make more boards! {These were all either made for friends, for me, for fun, or for Style Me Pretty contests. Two of them were featured on SMP.}

Please forgive me for not being able to properly credit these photos. All of these boards have been featured on my blog before and were properly credited then. I no longer have the original files showing me where I got all of these images.

This is the pink and gold board that I created for our wedding.

I put together this purple and gray board for a reader that wrote to me.

this board was designed around the gorgeous Reem Acra dress that Olivia Wilde is wearing.

I did this one for a friend. I still hope she uses it. Hint hint! This one was featured on Style Me Pretty.

A color board based around the gorgeous cotton photo by Kelly Moore. This one was submitted to Style Me Pretty and made it to the voting round of a contest.

Yellow and black- just for fun! I do know that two of these images are from Thoughtful Day, one of my favorite blogs!

A baby shower inspiration board based on “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss. I created this one for a contest.

Just an idea for a little girl’s birthday party. This one makes me really happy.

I would absolutely make a purple and red inspiration board for you. Email me and I’ll get to work!

Life as a Mom

I have a lot of friends who are moms to young kids and as a single gal, I want to be as supportive a friend I can, but I never know what the right thing to say or do is. I have no idea what goes on in a day where you are at home caring for a child, as opposed to being in an office all day, so usually I don’t say a word and just let them vent… but is there anything people have said to you to encourage you or pick you up that you really appreciated, and wouldn’t mind sharing with us clueless single gals?

If you aren’t sure what to say, maybe you could just say, “I hope that when I have kids someday you can help me by reminding me what it was like for you and letting me know how you got through it.” The first few weeks with a newborn are just a blur. I was in Babies R Us today with Hudson and we were playing and he was babbling. And my mind flashed back to 7 months ago when he was in his baby carrier and I felt like I had no clue what I was doing or where I was!

People usually just said to me things like, “It gets so much easier and so much more fun as time goes on.” And they also said, “Everyone feels the way you do. Don’t worry.” And that always made me feel better.

Now that you’ve transitioned to be a SAHM, what does an average day in your life look like? Have you met a community of other moms that you can interact with (playgroups, etc.)?  Do you ever feel lonely or isolated, like your days are full?  Do you feel challenged?  Do you have other adults to interact with?

Whoo…a day in our lives. Here’s a rundown:

1. Wake up and feed Hudson his bottle.

2. He plays in his pack ‘n play while I get dressed- these days I just get my gym clothes on.

3. I feed him his rice cereal and fruit after he’s been awake an hour.

4. We play and read books.

5. He gets another bottle around 10:00 a.m. He goes down for a nap three hours after he wakes up. He usually sleeps a little over 2 hours. (Lately Todd’s mom comes over during this time and I go to the gym.)

6. He wakes up and gets another bottle.

7. We play some more and go for a walk.

8. He takes another nap for about an hour and I do some housework, check email, blog, catch up on phone calls, play with the dogs, etc.

9. He wakes up and gets another bottle and we do the whole thing again. He still gets a botle every three hours.

10. He gets his supper/vegetables around  6:00 p.m. He gets a bath at 6:30 p.m. and his last bottle for the day at 7:00 p.m. Then he’s in bed until 7:00 a.m. or so and we do it all over again.

Some days we run errands, but I try to limit my errands to once a week. It’s good to get Hudson out of the house, but I find that I’m more responsible and spend less money if we only go to Target and Publix or Piggly Wiggly once every week. I make a list and am totally prepared when we go.

Now… for me. Todd gets home around 6:15 every night and after Hudson goes to bed we have our time. I get dinner started around 6:00 and we eat after Hudson has gone to bed. This way we can enjoy it more and relax. We watch TV and spend time together and then go to bed.

I had something to do every night this week at 6:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. with Junior League and Bible study. I spend a lot of time with my friends– more time than I did when I was working.

I don’t feel isolated. I have a great support system and we live in a part of town that allows me to see people frequently. I don’t have constant adult interaction, but I do have adult interaction. I’m very fortunate that my mother-in-law can keep Hudson so I can go to the gym. That gets me out of the house and I’m able to get rid of some energy. Our gym does have a nursery, but I’m waiting for him to start crawling before taking him there.

I feel challenged every day. I think all mothers know that it’s a very challenging job. I’m not saying that everyone would like being a SAHM, but I love it and it was absolutely the right decision for me.

Do you and TC have names already picked out for your future kids (assuming you want more kids)? Hudson is such an adorable name!

We have a couple of girl names picked out, but I’m going to keep them to myself. I probably won’t keep the name a secret if I get pregnant again, but for now I just want to keep it to ourselves. One of the names is a family name and I just love it.

What are your tips for being a stay at home mom?

Don’t have any expectations. Don’t expect it to always be perfect and don’t compare yourself or your situation to anyone. Like everything, it’s what you make it. The best tip I can give is to be organized. Have your grocery lists made up. Fold laundry during nap times. (When there’s a newborn you need to take naps during naptime!) Babies can be hard to please. There will definitely be bad days where you can’t wait to go to bed, but you know that tomorrow is a new day and that you get to start over.

Please tell me why you love being a SAMH? Did you make any cutbacks? Where you scared to leave your job?

I wasn’t scared to leave my job. Fortunately, our situation worked out where we didn’t lose much financially because of Todd’s job. But we are making cutbacks right now because Todd has just started his own firm and we just have to be conservative.

I love being home with Hudson every day. I love being there for all the moments. I love making my house into the home I’ve always wanted it to be. This is the best thing that I can give to my son. I’m not saying that for everyone– but I wasn’t a happy person with the way things had been going at work, and I don’t have days like that anymore. It’s such a personal decision, but I never wake up dreading a day. This life is not glamourous. I tend to look like a hot mess these days because naps are fewer, but I love what I do.

I want to be a SAHM when the time comes but I stress out when I think about the fact that my income won’t be coming in anymore! What things were the most difficult to cut back on, and which were the easiest?

Clothes and shoes. Hands down. But I’m trying!

How much TV time do you allow him?

Hudson is a mover. He doesn’t sit still very long. He’s not crawling, but he scoots and rolls. But he will watch about one Baby Einstein show every day. Today we watched Baby Van Gogh and he was completely captivated. I usually put it on after he finishes his supper. We have a TV in the kitchen and when he’s done eating I’ll wheel him over to the TV and put in a Baby MacDonald or something from Baby Einstein. That’s his fussy time, so he is usually calmed by it and really enjoys it for a few minutes. No TV during meals though! He’s too easily distracted for that.

 

Baby Tips, Tricks, and Fashion

Any tips on how you got Hudson to sleep through the night (7a-7p)?  When did Hudson start to sleep through the night/go down at 7pm on a regular basis?

I’m sure I’ll get some comments on this one, but this is how it worked for us.  Hudson just had to cry it out. Before crying it out, he went about 7 hours before waking up. We saw his pediatrician and she assured us that our big boy was not hungry and was only waking up out of habit. She told us that we needed to teach him how to fall asleep without the aid of rocking or a bottle because some day we’ll need to just say, “Hudson. It’s time for bed.”

So when he was 3.5 months old we had him cry it out. He has been sleeping in his crib since he came home from the hospital. We have a video monitor and we just watched him in the video monitor that night. At that time, he was going to bed at 10 pm. He cried for about 30 minutes and went back to sleep. No pacifier. He was still swaddled at that point, too. The next night, he woke up once and cried for 15 minutes. The third night, it was 5 minutes and the fourth night he didn’t wake up at all.  I know that mothers are torn on this, but it worked for us. We have not been into his room in the middle of the night since he was 3.5 months old and now he’s 7 months old.

When he outgrew his swaddle blankets and Woombie, we moved him into a Halo Sleep Sack.

A few months ago he started getting fussy around 9:00, so we let him go to bed at 9:00 and he still slept until 7:00 a.m. Then around Halloween, he was really fussy around 7:00 p.m. We thought, “Well, let’s just put him to bed. He may wake up at 5:00 a.m., but we’ll just see.” He slept that night from 7 pm-7 am. And he did the same thing every night after that.

There is the occasional night that we’ll hear him babbling around 5:00 or 6:00 a.m., but we don’t go in there. We wait for him to go back to sleep– and he always does– and then he wakes up again at his usual 7:00 or 7:30. I guess it’s “tough love” but I know that I wake up during the night and I always go back to sleep. And I knew that my baby could, too.

Any websites pertaining to babies that you check religiously? Ex. What to expect, Baby Center, etc.

Only if I have a question about something specific. I’m not big into going “by the book” or “by the website.” But if I think he has a cold or if he seems to have a reaction to some food, I’ll check Baby Center or some general baby message boards after Googling the topic.

I do pull out my “What To Expect” book once a month or so to check on milestones.

You did a product review probably around when Hudson was 3 months. I would love to read another product review now that Hudson is out of the swing, bouncy seat, etc and into toys and other stuff.

I will! It’s hard, though, because all babies like different things. But someday soon I’ll share what we liked and didn’t like.

Where do you like to baby clothes shop, whether it be online or in store and what are your favorite brands of baby clothing?

My favorite places to shop for baby clothes are Kelly’s Kids, Hanna Anderson, Orient Expressed, two local stores called Little Lambs & Ivy and Bumble Boutique, Janie and Jack, and Baby GAP.

My absolute favorite layette brands are Kissy Kissy and Magnolia Baby. I love Feltman Brothers and Bailey Boys for sweet dressy outfits. Funtasia has great, happy outfits.

The cute little reversible overalls from his 6 and 7 month photos are a brand called Boojue, based out of North Carolina.

I hope this helps!