Erin Akin Carroll

You know how it is. You and your significant other are having a spat or you’re just generally frustrated with something and choosing to vent the way women like to vent. And then he says something to send you to the next level.

Take me, for example. I’m a Scorpio (and don’t really believe in astrology). I’m passionate and skeptical and have a difficult time not showing my emotions on my face or expressing my opinion about something. I’m obsessive and compulsive and can fixate on a topic for hours sometimes. So if something upsets me, offends me, rubs me the wrong way, you can bet that I’m going to talk about it.

And then, I hear it from TC, “Why don’t you just calm down?”

You would think he would have learned by now that the last way to get me to calm down is to tell me to calm down. To me, that’s him saying, “I think you’re being ridiculous and I think you’re overreacting. I don’t care as much about what you’re talking about. I think you’re wrong for feeling this way.”

I know that I’m reading too much into those “calm down” words, but that’s just how I hear it.

And then I escalate and don’t calm down. At all.

How about you? Are there any magic words that can cause you to escalate? Or maybe there are magic words that do actually calm you down?

A (not-so-flattering) photo reenactment of a spat between TC and me (which is actually a funny story about the day we got engaged) taken by Tracy Turpen

I starred the following items in my Google Reader over the past couple of weeks and am finally getting around to sharing them with you:

From Urban Grace Interiors: This bold, gorgeous blue Trina Turk outdoor fabric that was used in this rooftop patio made me squeal with delight as soon as I saw it!

From Brooklyn Limestone: I’m in love with the woven wood shades and the geometric modern curtains in this room. I want to do this in our dining room area with a more traditional fabric pattern. Love.

From Style Me Pretty: A beautiful pink wedding that reminds me so much of our own! The milk glass, the peonies, the light airy feel with so much sophistication is just show-stopping!

From Lauren Clark Photography: This family session is so adorable and so much fun. And I’m not sure the parents could be any more attractive. Gorgeous people and gorgeous photos!

From The Sweets Blog by Amy Atlas: The colors in the gorgeous tablescape jumped off the screen at me and I just had to post it!

Any gorgeousness you want to share with me?

As Hudson gets older, I start to think, “when should we start thinking about having his sibling?” I’m not in any hurry, but I do want to have a little bit of a plan. Even if it’s just a plan that says: In one year we’ll make a plan.

One thing that may help us know when to try and when not to try is this little chart.

this particular gender chart found here

In all my experience, the chart has been correct. I’ve seen different versions of the Chinese Gender Predictor Chart, but they’re always all correct with anyone that I ask. And my OBGYN even said that it was correct for her children and she planned her pregnancies around the chart.

And then I see pictures like this and I start to ache. I start thinking about babies in general.

And then I think about when I’m my mother’s age and I would love to have a daughter to take care of when she has a baby.

But babies are a lot more work than they are just cute little people in a picture, so we’re not in any hurry to add that back into our lives. And it looks like there are only a few straight months with pink boxes lined up if we are ready. Age 27 and 28 aren’t great years for trying to have a girl. (I’ll only be 27 for a couple more months)

But our little boy has been so easy and so much fun. And in the end I know that God is in control of when we conceive, who our baby is and what he or she will be like, and if it is a little girl or a little boy.

Have any of you used the gender chart when trying to conceive?

If you’ve had a baby, was the gender chart correct for you?