Erin Akin Carroll

Many thanks to all of this month’s sponsors!

I continue to create these posts because the women who have buttons on this blog have become friends of mine and I want all of you to see the great stuff they’re selling and making. Read ahead to see some of my favorite products and find out about deals from each of these fabulous companies!

This month’s new sponsors are Oreck, Thirty-One Gifts from Kodi BeVelle and My Southern Accent by Wendy Woodall.

::Oreck::

What can I say about Oreck? I am the proud owner of a Dual Max Air Purifier and that thing has made such a difference in our home!

My little handheld vacuum is the greatest thing, though. When I need to get into tight spaces to clean up, it’s perfect. Or if I need to get a spill off the couch, it’s perfect. When I took down all of the Christmas decorations, I just went around and cleaned up everything with this great, light weight handheld vacuum. The price is great and the function is unbeatable.

I also have the new Oreck Magnesium upright vacuum and it is truly the greatest vacuum I’ve ever used. I’m so proud to own one! I have a great, trusty older Oreck vacuum model that will not die and still works as great as it did when I first got it. I am an Oreck customer for life.

::My Southern Accent::

My friend, Wendy, started her Etsy shop called My Southern Accent last year. She sells these fantastic print/printables featuring Southern quotes and sayings. I just love them! They are perfect for an office, a creative space, as a reminder hanging on the wall in your closet, in a child’s room. They are just so cute and so creative!

I can’t wait to see what new designs she comes up with.

And Wendy was featured in Southern Living in the December issue for great gift ideas! Isn’t that so exciting? She is super talented and has become a friend of mine over the years. I’m so proud of all of her success and I just love her Etsy shop!

::Thirty-One Gifts with Kodi BeVelle::

Y’all know how much I love a good organizing tool and a great tote bag, right? Thirty-One Gifts is just the latest in amazing organizing gear. And Kodi has become a good friend of mine through blogging and Twitter.

The name is based on the Proverbs 31 woman and I think that is just so great. The company is centered around celebrating, encouraging and rewarding women. How great is that?

I have been drooling over so many of these bags and home organizing products. I love the magazine basket that you can carry from room to room. I love the thermal bags so much. We use them for Hayes’s bottles when we’re out and about and need to keep them warm.

The utility totes are great for transporting yoga gear, clean laundry, dirty laundry, beach supplies, party supplies and casseroles. You name it! I just love all of this stuff so much. I’m in serious need of a rolling duffle. For real. Am I just listing my Christmas wish list.

Check out Kodi’s Thirty-One site and place an order. All you have to do is click on “Place an Order” and click on the party  under Kodi’s name. And get to shopping.

::Polka Dot Posies::

I’m a boy mom, so I don’t buy bows, but I do love some bows on some little girls! Polka Dot Posies has the cutest and most affordable options for bows. Really, you cannot beat their prices. All of the bows and stocked and ready to ship so there’s no wait time to receive the bow.  I just think they are so cute! And, really. $4.00 for a bow? Can’t beat it. They also have hats, headbands and other accessories.

::BarBelles at Home and BarBellies at Home::

This is, without a doubt, the most unique sponsor on my blog, but I am SO excited to know about the blog and what it offers.

::Monogram Chick::

Oh my goodness, do I love the Monogram Chick. I recently ordered that gorgeous white, waffle weave, ruffle robe with my monogram on it. I am in love. I also recently ordered the 24 oz tumbler in a great purple color with a white decal with my monogram. I have used it so much!

Monogram Chick has the most wonderful gift selections and I have gone to her website time and time again looking for the perfect gift for every occasion. Monogram Chick is an extensive selection of fabulously unique products including gifts for bridesmaids, hostesses, sorority, housewarmings, children and babies. I have gotten so many of my favorite baby gifts and personalized items for myself and my children from Sarah, the Monogram Chick. She has items for every budget and no matter your budget, your gift will be personalized and meaningful to the recipient!

::Willow House with Callie Parker::

I am obsessed with Willow House. I’d buy everything from the catalog if I could afford it. My friend, Callie, sells these gorgeous products and a few months ago I hosted a party. For hosting the party, I was able to get some gorgeous things for some fabulous prices. I stocked up on some amazing entertaining pieces. The collage above shows some of the things I have and some of the things on my wish list, including the Nola Party Bucket and the Christmas card display holder.

Have you always wanted the Savannah Beverage Server? They’re back for a limited time and at 40% off! I have three of these and love them for parties. Click here to order yours!

And visit Callie’s Harvest Sale!

If you’re interested in hosting a Willow House party or purchasing anything, contact Callie at willowhousemom@gmail.com.

::Stella & Dot::

I absolutely love Stella & Dot jewelry. I love that it is stylish and affordable. Each season, they have the greatest pieces that fit with the latest trends and I always look for something to fit every outfit. Stella & Dot offers some of the most attractive, trendy jewelry I have seen in years. I have quite a few pieces and I wear at least one thing every day. Whether you are a stay at home mom, working mom, on the go, or going out on the town Stella & Dot has just the piece for you. Check our Karah’s site and see if you find something that fits your style and your budget!

::Sweet Birdie’s Nest::

Any time someone asks me who to use for a great birthday invitation for their child or who to use to get all the extra fun birthday accessories for their party, I recommend Sweet Birdie’s Nest. Sweet Birdie’s Nest is two sisters who make sure everyone has whimsical, beautiful and personalized stationery and party invitations.  These girls create invitations and details for bridal and baby showers, Christmas cards, birth announcements, and Baptisms.  They created all of the invitations, banners, cupcake toppers, party circles, and favor tags for Hudson’s second birthday this year.

This month, Sweet Birdie’s Nest is offering an adorable Valentine’s Day printable for school age kids! I’m so excited about it and can’t wait to show you more!

::Southern Tots::

Southern Tots has every single one of my favorite brands for kiddos. My favorite smocked and applique styles are there and Ashley also creates custom pieces for parties and occasions.

Southern Tots has Facebook sales almost every day of the week! You can go on Facebook on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to buy great smocked and appliquéd outfits for your little ones!

Their spring collections are on the website now and they are c-ute! You can always find something new for your little boy or girl when you visit www.southerntots.com!  Find them on Facebook as Southern Tots.

::Ashley Brooke Designs::

Ashley Brooke Designs is one of my absolute favorite gems that I’ve found through blogging. Her one-of-a-kind designs have found a place in our home as I’ve had stationery created for our family, for Hudson, for Hayes, given custom stationery as gifts, and used Ashley Brooke’s designs for invitations! Ashley Brooke Designs is a luxury paper company where Ashley creates hand-drawn fashion sketches from scratch.  She creates blog headers, invitations, personal stationery, announcements, and holiday cards. She works one on one with clients to design exactly what they’re looking for.  The designs are available on everything from stationery to coffee mugs to tote bags.

Now Ashley has an amazing online shop that includes beautiful stationery that is already made and ready to go. These are some of the most adorable notepads, moving announcements, thank you cards and “just because” notes I’ve seen!

Contact Ashley at info@ashleybrookedesigns.com!

::Penny Lane Designs::

Marina of Penny Lane Designs creates the best blog designs, hands down! I have used Marina from Penny Lane Designs to create my blog design twice now. When I had my original blog, she created an adorable design there, and she created the one I have now. I always recommend her to everyone because I believe she is the best of the best. She offers pre-fab layouts and custom blog headers. Each custom header is truly original and she helps your blog brand itself. I love working with her! Click here to place your order.

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Last week was a tough week for Hudson. I thought that by having boys I was going to be able to avoid the arguing and bickering, but I was very wrong.

Hudson didn’t nap for three days last week. He actually did fine when he wasn’t napping. He stayed in his room and played very quietly. The lights were still out and his white noise was still playing, but he just never went to sleep. He just played and sang songs and talked to his stuffed animals.

But when 5:30 or 6:00 came around and before TC got home, he began to melt down. Crying at the drop of a hat. Screaming when he didn’t get his way or if Hayes looked at him funny.

It was clear that I had to stay consistent with enforcing nap time and that, hopefully, he would actually sleep during nap time again someday.

I discovered that to push through the tantrums in the “witching hour” every night, we had to get creative. I had to come up with a way to get his mind off of how tired and cranky he was and make him laugh.

And that’s where Adam Levine and Maroon 5 come in. (We can also thank our friends at Disney, Elizabeth Mitchell and Oh Susanna, and Bob Marley.)

But this week it was Moves Like Jagger.

We had our living room dance party and waved our hands in the air. And waved ’em like we just don’t care.

I showed Hudson my moves and he showed me his.

He has no idea who Mick Jagger is or what Jagger’s moves are.

In fact, he call him “Dragger.” He asks, “Dance to ‘Dragger’?” So we do. We listen to the song on repeat for about 20 minutes every night. And Hudson loves it!

I even taught him how to do “the swim” and he sings along while holding his nose and waving his arms in the air.

So that’s our little gimmick. It’s a distraction for all of us and it carries us over into bath time and bed time. Thank goodness for edited/toddler-appropriate versions of pop songs!

Our new night time routine includes supper, “Moves Like Dragger,” bath time, books, and bed.

*P.S. If it weren’t for Glee I wouldn’t even know about this song. Our music choices in the car are limited to Disney tunes and whatever I’m working on for children’s choir. Thank you, Glee, for helping me stay with it.

I was looking through old blog posts last night as I tend to do every few months. It’s fun to go back to specific times and be able to remember what was going on. I used to do a better job of documenting the day to day and it’s so funny to go back and read about specific things that happened.

Last night I was reading in my archives around the months right before Hudson was born. I mentioned our anniversary trip to Savannah, but never blogged about the actual trip or posted any pictures. I think that’s mostly because I was 36 weeks pregnant on our first anniversary and I am almost positive I didn’t want to have my picture taken.

Since Etta James died last week, I’ve been humming the song “At Last” to myself a lot. Todd has always been confused by that song. He never could figure out why they sing it as the first dance song at many weddings. When I asked him why, he said, “The words say, ‘At last, my love has come and gone.’ I mean, how depressing is that for a first dance?”

I laughed and clued him in to the actual lyrics. (“My love has come along.”)

And then we laughed and remembered the night of our first wedding anniversary.

We went to eat at the Olde Pink House in Savannah. It’s one of the more popular restaurants in Savannah and they give a really good Southern dining experience.

I guess when Todd made our reservations for that night he mentioned that it was our first anniversary, as any proud groom would do!

So we got to the restaurant and we were enjoying a wonderful, quiet meal. I was large and I was hungry.

All of a sudden, Etta James’s doppleganger walks over and says, “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Carroll. Happy anniversary.”

We thanked her for being so kind and then, without warning, she steps back and sings,

“Aaaat Laaaaaast!”

And she proceeded to sing “At Last” in its entirety at full volume to us.

We were in a very small dining room with many other patrons, who were looking on. We were all enjoying the entertainment. But I really do not like public attention and I am very easily embarrassed. My face turns bright red and is flaming hot when I know a bunch of people are looking at us.

And here we were, really enjoying her voice, but not really sure if we were supposed to look at her. Or look at each other? Or smile or cry?

So now every time I hear that song, I get this really nervous feeling as I remember that night and the really nice lady who serenaded us, but embarrassed me to death.