Erin Akin Carroll

i promise…

Jul122010

to wake up with a smile on my face every day.
not to buy another thing that i don’t need. Target, you better watch out!
to only say “yes” to the things that I really want to do.
to have a good attitude about things I choose to do and not to be a martyr.
to put Jesus first, Todd second, and Hudson third.
not to buy a single piece of fall or winter clothing until the temperature hits 70 degrees.
to complain less and praise more.
to pay attention when talking to my friends and not to let my mind wander to the things I’m stressed about.
to start cooking again!
to stop looking toward the future and live in the moment.
to be better about keeping in touch with my dearest friends.
not to feel defeated when things don’t go as I planned.
to stop getting mad at Boudreaux for being so crazy.
to figure out why my hair is turning yellow and get a better hair color!
to laugh more and take things less seriously.
to be around people that make me laugh more and help me takes things less seriously.

Those things probably should have been New Year’s resolutions, but I’m going to work on them in July.

I spent most of the weekend completely stressing out about Music Camp and was completely worried (like sleepless worry) over how it would go today. And you know what? It went fine. I wasted too much time worrying about it and I was honestly taking it too seriously. Simplify! Laugh! Enjoy the day!

What promises are you making to yourself on how to make each day a little easier?

Kelly Moore Bag Winner

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Jul112010

Congratulations to commenter #134, Hannah Schreiner!

Lets see, why wouldn’t I want this bag? It’d make my life so much easier! Just today I was in a local camera shop looking for a great camera bag. one problem. They are all so ugly and wouldn’t really hold all that I need when I go out to a shoot. Oh would I ever love to get this bag!!! I’m pregnant with my first and this would be a great bag to throw our SLR, lenses, and diapers and baby accessories in and head out to where ever I need to go. Please pick me!!!

Hannah, just send me an email at eeakin11{at}gmail{dot}com with your address and I’ll send your bag out as soon as possible!

If you are interested in purchasing the Kelly Moore Bag, you can click on the button on the sidebar or the button below.

Hudson is 13 months old!

Filed Under: Hudson, Uncategorized

Jul92010

Dear Hudson,

On June 5, you turned 13 months old. An entire month has passed since your birthday celebration and it already seems like you’ve changed so much since then. You’re still a wild man and are kind of all over the place, but now you’re just moving faster. And we struggle to keep up with you and still manage to get other things done during the day.

You absolutely love being able to walk. This month, I considered documenting your second year of life next to your big stuffed giraffe instead of the trusty monkey. But you wouldn’t stand there next to the giraffe, so you had to go back to the old rocking chair. It has become harder and harder to take your picture, too.

When it comes to food you have tried almost everything and you love everything. We’re still waiting to feed you peanut butter and shellfish, but you like fish and you just got to have eggs for the first time and loved those, too. I don’t think we ever doubted if you would be a good eater!

You don’t love sitting still in your high chair for too long, though, so sometimes I think you get bored while you sit to have your meal. Our pediatrician told us not to worry if you don’t eat much at one meal because you’re likely to make up for it at the next. I definitely want you to only eat what you want to eat and not to feel like you have to eat. Somedays you love spaghetti and somedays you want nothing to do with spaghetti. I’m just glad you’re able to let us know that you’re not interested.

You’ve begun to do the sign for “more” and you say “mmmm” when you want something. You’ve been going to the pantry and pulling out the boxes of Goldfish and Teddy Grahams. I think you may even turn into a little Goldfish someday if you keep eating them so much!

You absolutely love everyone. When we’re at Little Gym, you’ll sometimes walk up to another baby’s mommy and give her a big hug and lay your head on her shoulder. I’m so happy that you’re such a lover and so willing to go to people.

You still love Boudreaux and Fiona (or “Boo-doh” and “Nona”) and love calling their names and patting them on the head. Sometimes, though, when they start barking you’ll jump up and run to me as fast as you can. That’s really the only time that you attempt to run. The barking can startle you when you’re not expecting it. And you’re not so sure about other dogs that bark. But we’re working on letting you know that you don’t need to be afraid when they bark all the time. Sometimes they’re just saying “hello” to you.

You’re still very into sorting and gathering up your toys and then taking them and collecting them in one area. Then you pick them up again and take them back to where you found them. I hope you’ll start helping me clean the house someday!

Your other favorite activity is just sitting on the floor with your books. You could flip through the pages of your books for hours and just “read” to yourself. We think you’re very smart!

Your vocabulary continued to increase every month and you recognize more and more songs and try to sing the words or do the motions with them. You’re catching on to “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” You still sing “Old MacDonald” all the time. It’s by far your favorite.

Our favorite new thing that you’re doing is “roaring” when we ask, “Hudson, what does the lion say?” So cute, you are!

We love you so very much!

Mama

13 month Stats

Size: 32.5 inches long and 29 pounds

Clothes size: 24 months

Diaper size: 5

Shoe size: 5

Foods: loves grilled cheese, applesauce, corn, popsicles, and peas

Drink: Loves whole milk- rarely wants to drink anything else

Naps: Still loving his two naps per day. The first nap is 2-3 hours and the second nap is 1 hour

Words: Bye, Hey, Boo-doh, Nona, Daddy, Da-da, Mama, Mommy, Baby, Book, Dog, No-no-no, Ball, Bubble, “mooooo” (what does the cow say?), “roar” (what does the lion say?),

Songs: Old MacDonald, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Itsy Bitsy Spider, A-B-C song

Favorites: The pool, Baby Einstein videos, dancing to any music, picking up his fake cell phone and saying “bye”

getting my act together

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Jul82010

Do you find that when you start feeling the slightest bit disorganized things start to slip through the cracks? And once things start slipping through the cracks you feel like your life is a mess. I mean, obviously, things aren’t terrible, but I feel like I can’t get my act together.

I’m supposed to be planning for music camp and I’m supposed to be going to the gym at least four days a week. But lately, as in the past three weeks, I haven’t even gone to the gym once a week. I know, Amy, please don’t kill me. And my music camp plans aren’t completely finalized yet.

I have lots of excuses. And most of them are good excuses. We went to Dallas to help my mom and then came home and worked VBS. Then Hudson caught hand, foot, and mouth disease and had to be quarantined for a whole week. That’s really when things went downhill. Not leaving the house for a week was tough. I couldn’t go to the gym because he couldn’t go to the gym nursery and be around other kids.

And this week? There is no excuse except that I’m completely disorganized and can’t seem to map out a plan for my day.

I’m a huge planner and my life as a stay-at-home-mom works so much better if I plan each day out the way I did when I was working. I need a daily or weekly schedule. Each day can be similar in structure, but maybe Monday is laundry day and Wednesday is grocery shopping day.

But every day needs to be workout day. And I’m going to be getting up at the crickity-crack of dawn to do it. I’ve done this a few times and I love it. Hudson is still asleep. Todd gets to take his time in the morning. And I run off to the gym and do my thing and get back while Hudson is eating his breakfast. It’s so much easier to get it over with every day rather than take Hudson to the nursery at the gym.

Here’s the thing with gym nurseries: they make me nervous. The lady that works the nursery is very nice, but she always seems so overwhelmed. There are 15 kids, of all ages, in there and she is trying to keep them all entertained and happy. I feel so much pressure to rush through my workout so I can go rescue Hudson from the nursery. And when I get there to pick him up he’s always crying. It’s just not the best motivator to return to the gym. He hates the gym nursery, but loves the church nursery.

I told you I could come up with a hundred excuses.

So I’m done with excuses and my MomAgenda is getting itself a good workout, too. I’m planning out my days and putting “gym” at the very top at 6:30 a.m.

Are y’all going to hold me accountable?

What keeps you from the gym? Is it time or a general lack of motivation? Or maybe you’re like me and your kiddo hates the nursery.

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