Erin Akin Carroll

• Our surgery to get Hudson’s tubes is scheduled for Wednesday. I have been looking forward to this day for so long. I know that Hudson is absolutely sick and tired of having ear infection after ear infection. The ENT ruled out the adenoidectomy because she thinks it is too aggressive at this point, but we have been on schedule for the tubes.
• Until last night…. when Hudson had a 103.8 fever. We are beyond frustrated, but we took him to his pediatrician because we need to get this fever under control before Wednesday. Nothing is standing in the way of my baby and his tubes! He has a double ear infection right now. Big shock! So we started the Rocephin shots today and by Wednesday he should be fine for his surgery. Bring on the tubes!
• I am having an ultrasound tomorrow and get to see sweet baby Hayes again. My doctor wants to get an idea of his size since I’m measuring big and also wants to see if he is in the correct position. I can feel him over every inch of my belly and have a feeling he isn’t head down yet. This only matters if I happen to go into labor. But I can’t wait to check out my baby boy tomorrow!
• TC and I picked up some books to start planning our trip to Napa Valley and San Francisco for the fall. Hayes will be about 6 months old by then and we’ll be celebrating my 11/11/11 birthday. The idea of a fun, romantic getaway has both of us pretty excited.
• I am so close to being done with all of Hudson’s birthday party planning. Thanks to Sweet Birdie’s Nest and a fabulous Etsy seller called Kelley Cards, I have almost every little thing taken care of other than the food. My hope is that on birthday party day, we can all roll into the location and have a party! Here’s a sneak peak… Hudson is going to be so excited!

That’s it for today. No fun pictures, no big updates. Just a relaxing weekend with my family and a week with nothing big on the calendar. Thank goodness for gorgeous weather, dogwoods, azaleas, and sunshine!

This week, I mentioned that my friend Lyndsey was coming to visit me. My super sweet friend wanted to drive up to visit me before Hayes is born just to hang out. Or help me do things that needed to get done. How nice is that?

Driving a little over four hours with your toddler is not an easy task or one that you want to do very often by yourself, but she was willing to do it because she is so kind and thoughtful.

When I told my mom that Lyndsey was coming to visit, she said, “are you up for visitors?” It’s no secret that I’ve been really sore lately and it takes me a while to get around. But I knew that I was up for Lyndsey’s visit. You know why? Because I didn’t have to do anything. Because I didn’t have to make dinner reservations or cook or plan fun outings. I knew that when Lyndsey got here that we’d just be sitting around, watching our kids play, telling funny stories, and laughing. And relaxing.

And I was right. It was so much fun and I had some serious blues when she left. I wasn’t tired after their visit and wished more and more that we lived closer to each other so days like that weren’t so rare. But it also made me appreciate the time more because we don’t live in the same town.

I feel the same way about visiting my mom and dad. Our time together is so precious that we absolutely make the most out of it and don’t feel pressure to make plans, cook fancy dinners, or have tons of meals out. We use the time together to enjoy each other’s company.

I have a few friends in my life like Lyndsey where I know that we can just sit on the couch all day and laugh, rest, and just do what we want to do. Some of those friends live here and some live a thousand miles away. But this week, her visit meant the absolute world to me and having her company was such a gift.

It was so nice to know that someone else has to correct her child throughout the day while I was correcting my child. And someone else goes a million miles an hour all day long and can’t finish a thought because she has to jump up and stop her toddler from doing something that they shouldn’t. Lyndsey has a beautiful, sweet toddler and being around them was such a joy this week.

We didn’t take a single picture. Because that’s the way I am. Lyndsey brought her camera everywhere with her, but we never took a picture.

So I have just been really thankful this week. That I have friends in my life like Lyndsey (and she’s not the only one in my life that I could write a post like this about) who came to visit just to visit.

I hope you all are fortunate enough to have similar relationships in your life. Even if you only get to see the friend a couple of times a year, those visits can give you just what you need to get through whatever is going on in your life.

It is an exciting day in our house! Because the new 2011-2012 momAgenda planners are here and ready to be ordered.

It is no secret how much I love my MomAgenda Mini Daily and how much I use it and rely on it every single day. And now that Hayes is coming, I know I’ll need to be even more organized.

Check out the NEW 2011/2012 Planners at momAgenda.com!

A couple of April monthly specials from momAgenda for you!

Take $10 off all orders of $75+ at momAgenda! Code: MOM10OFF75 Offer Expires 4.30

Take 10% off all orders of $65+ at momAgenda! Code: MOM10OFF65 Offer Expires 4.30

This year, I’m obsessed with the Turquoise Home Office Edition! The color is beautiful and I love the extra blank pages, the pockets, and the spiral notebook.

Don’t forget, if you weren’t one of the three winners, you can still order your straw tumbler from Monogram Chick and receive 10% off with the coupon code BEBMARCH.

Congratulations to the follow three lucky winners!

Email me at eeakin11{at}gmail{dot}com by FRIDAY if you are one of the three winners!