Erin Akin Carroll

We had a really fun, eventful day yesterday. One of Hudson’s good friends from school had a birthday party at our neighborhood park. It was fun to hang out with my friends while all of our kids played. I wanted to get a picture of them together, but they were having too much fun to stop and take a picture.

I had to rush off to a Junior League shift for the Touch a Truck fundraiser. This is such a great event for kids. They get to climb up in firetrucks, ambulances, tractors, and all kinds of other heavy machinery and big trucks. I worked the shift with my friend Allison. I just adore her and it had been too long since we were able to sit and catch up. It definitely helped the time go by quickly.

Todd brought Hudson to the event and Hudson had the greatest time. He even got his first snow cone! And he got to climb in the back seat of a police car! (I hope this is the last time.)

He climbed way up on top of a tractor!

When we all got home, we went on a long walk. Fiona was the only one of us that stayed home. (She can’t walk farther than just our block because of a slight knee problem. But she is allowed on the furniture, so she doesn’t mind too much.)

We walked to the nearby middle school so Hudson and Boudreaux could just run around. They had a blast.

Boudreaux chased the tennis ball for a long time until he had just had enough and couldn’t run anymore.

There were some boys and a dad out in the park playing kick ball, but Boudreaux didn’t pay them any attention, thankfully. He has so much energy and I’m glad that the days are longer so we can go on long walks together and let Boudreaux do lots of romping.

And little Hayes was content to sit in his stroller and watch. Every time Boudreaux brought the ball back, Hayes would just laugh and laugh. I sat next to Hayes and read him a few books that we’d put in the bottom of the stroller. He’s such a happy boy.

…Hudson got his first little hat this week. And boy is it cute! It’s red and he asks to wear it all the time. He’s so proud of his hat. I think he looks like a little heart breaker wearing it!

…One of the most annoying tasks is matching your husband’s socks when folding laundry. I really don’t like folding laundry anyway, but matching all of his socks is such a pain. The only socks I wear are gym socks and they all match. But I have to match up Todd’s argyle, striped, solid, wool, cotton, patterned black, blue, brown, grey, tan and white socks. Woof! My mom always made us pin our socks together with a safety pin before putting them in the hamper. So far that plan isn’t implemented at our house, but I wish it was. Socks. ‘Nuff said.

…We went to the park with our friends Emily and Jack yesterday after naps. I find that if I tell Hudson that we’re going to do something fun after his nap he will fall asleep right away. We had a great time playing in the incredible weather. We had a great time! And Hudson loves Emily and Jack.

…If you ask Hudson what kind of shoes he’s wearing, he’ll proudly shout out, “Chuck Taylors!”

…We sent out Hayes’s first birthday invitations. Since he was born on Cinco de Mayo, the theme is “Hayes’s First Fiesta!” I’ll be sharing some of the party plans as we get ready. I’ve always wanted to have a Cinco de Mayo party and now we have a really adorable reason to have one!

…Hayes’s doc band gets really hot when we go for walks. He’s supposed to wear it 23 hours a day, so I usually leave it off when we know we’re going to be outside. But I think he has the funniest case of hat hair… or helmet hair?

…Are y’all watching Celebrity Apprentice? Todd and I love it. We watch it together every Sunday night. We cannot wait for Aubrey and Lisa to go home. I never root for the bullies and these girls are just mean.

…Hudson’s favorite game to play is “Superman.” He loves doing this and he doesn’t want to stop. Last night, I probably helped him “fly” about 12 times. But he absolutely loves it and it’s so cute to watch him smile that big!

…We have a neighbor who we’ve called by a name for the last four years. One day, our other neighbor mentioned him to us and she called him by a double name. And when we asked her about it, she said, “yeah, that’s what he likes to be called because that’s his name.” We’ve called him the wrong thing for four years?!

…I ate scrambled eggs for dinner three nights this week.

Anything y’all want to contribute to the big brain dump? I hope you all have a very happy weekend!

A few weeks ago I was contacted and asked if Hudson and I wanted to review the new Veggie Tales movie, “Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men.” I jumped at the chance because Hudson loves Veggie Tales and don’t all parents love Veggie Tales?

I decided that it would be fun for Hudson and me to have a little movie night. I told him that we were going to pop some popcorn and watch the new Veggie Tales movie. He immediately found the movie on the shelf and asked me to open it. He was so excited about having his own little popcorn and movie party.

One of the things I love most about Veggie Tales is that every DVD has a great message, but it’s also funny for the kids and funny for the parents. It has just enough wit to keep the parents entertained and paying attention.

The DVD starts with “Lenny and The Lost Birthday,” a short movie perfect for this Leap Year. Lenny thinks that everyone forgot his birthday, but his mom points out that his birthday is on Leap Day. What a great way to explain Leap Day to kids!

“Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men” tells the story we all know of Robin Hood. But Robin Good doesn’t steal. He’s a fundraiser. He wants to help give to the poor, but he’s not willing to steal from the rich to do it. He tells his Not-So-Merry Men that stealing is wrong. This story gives a great lesson on how sharing and working together is good.

(doesn’t understand that saying “cheese” means to smile)

Robin Good helps the people who do steal realize that they can change their ways and that God loves them. There are great, funny characters, scary characters, and our favorite Veggie Tales faces in this cute movie.  Hudson was laughing and saying, “uh oh” when the Giant came out. Then he asked to watch it again.

And, of course, he asked to eat popcorn again.

To order the DVD, click here.

I’ve included the trailer for “Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men.”

*I was not compensated for this review. I received the DVD in exchange for the review.