Erin Akin Carroll

in the middle of the night

Filed Under: Every Day, Family, Motherhood

May12014

Last night around 11:00, Todd and I headed to bed. We had been watching Jimmy Fallon and Emma Stone’s lip syncing competition on You Tube and then watched Paul Rudd’s. We laughed and turned on the news and fell asleep.

At midnight, I woke up to the sound of Hayes crying on the monitor. We have a video monitor and I could tell that he was pretty upset just by looking at him. Todd went upstairs to cover him back up and tuck him in, and then he came back and went to sleep.

At 1:00, I heard him crying again. The same distraught cry. So I went upstairs and tucked him in this time.

At 1:45, it happened again, so Todd took him some Ibuprofen and held him for a while before tucking him back in.

At 3:00, Hayes was crying again. This time, I went up and help him and rocked him in my arms while standing up. I asked him if his throat hurt or his ears hurt, and he really didn’t respond. I tucked him back in and then at 3:30, it started again.

Todd went upstairs to get him and brought him back to our bed and put Hayes in the crook of my arm. He snoozed on and off in my arms for a while. All 40 pounds and three years old of him. I could feel his hot breath on my cheek. His legs stretched down almost as far as the tops of my knees. And while I lay there holding my baby, I flashed back to the last time we were up this many times in one night.

Hayes was just a few weeks old. I was getting up to feed him every couple of hours. I’d peel myself out of bed and feed him and sometimes struggle to feed him. I’d put him back to bed and he’d arch his back because the reflux hurt him so badly. And after a few minutes, I’d end up back in the bed, holding tiny 10-pound Hayes in the crook of my arm.

His little legs barely came down as far as my wrist and I was constantly waking myself up to make sure I didn’t roll over on him or to make sure he hadn’t spit up.

We went to the doctor this morning and Hayes has an ear infection, as we suspected. And I know that his cries were so important last night to tell us that something was wrong and something hurt.

How did three years fly by so quickly? How did all this time pass, but I still have that same feeling to comfort and protect while holding my youngest boy in my arms in such a sleepy haze. And it feels like no time has passed at all.

How is it possible that while holding this large preschooler, I could still feel that tiny boy that he once was, nestled in that same sweet spot?

All I wanted in that moment (aside from sleep and for Hayes to feel better) was to freeze time. It was a long night, but also such a sweet night as we approach his third birthday.

Books I Read in April

Filed Under: Books

Apr302014

Okay, so it’s the end of another month (how did that happen?) and I’m going to share the three books I read this month. I was on a roll early this month because I flew to Louisiana and back and finished two books on that trip. I thought I might actually read more than three books this month, but I didn’t read at all while my mom was visiting and just finished my third book for the month tonight.

It’s great because I’m reading a lot faster now than I was just a few months ago. I’ll read instead of watching TV at night or while we watch TV at night. And I read every night before bed. And I am getting the best sleep of my life!

I read three fantastic books in April and I would recommend all of them.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I found myself smiling all the way through this book. I know it was very different and oftentimes downright strange, but it was quirky and fun. And I think I liked it because it was unlike anything I’ve ever read. I just found Bernadette to be so charming and, although strange, I loved her transparency and honesty. And I felt awful for her. I felt like I was watching episodes of Arrested Development, which totally makes sense because the author wrote for the show. I highly recommend this book, but also understand that it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea.

Defending Jacob by William Landay

Another fantastic book that kept me fully engaged the whole way through. This book is about a father who has to defend his son against a murder charge. It made me really stop and wonder what I would do and how far I would go to defend one of my own boys. The ending left me stunned and I still find myself thinking about it at times.

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

I read The Husband’s Secret last month, so I was excited to read What Alice Forgot. I was hooked halfway into the first chapter of What Alice Forgot. With every single turn of the page I wanted to know more about what Alice forgot when she bumped her head in her spin class. She has completely lost her memory from the past ten years and it’s so interesting to read and see things unfold. I’m a fan!

What about you? Have you read any of these three books? What did you read last month? It’s almost time for beach and pool reading, so I’ve been collecting fun books specifically for the summer season, too.

To see more books, here are the post for February and March:

Books I Read in February

Books I Read in March

Our Home: The Playroom

Filed Under: Home Tour

Apr292014

*There’s a giveaway at the bottom of this post for one of my favorite items in this room.

I thought I’d kick off the home tour with a really fun room that is fun for the whole family.

The playroom is located around the corner once you get to the top of the stairs. We designed it on the plans like an upstairs den. It has three full walls, and the missing wall is open to the hallway that leads to the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms.

We love that it’s an easy place for all of us to sit and hang out while the boys play, and someday when they don’t really play with toys anymore, it can be a place for them to sit and watch TV or play video games (do they really have to grow up and do that someday? ha!) and hang out with their friends. I love that it’s not closed off and feels open and bright.

The boys and I cleaned it up so we could take some pictures of it last week. It gets cleaned up every night before bed, but during the day you can imagine what it looks like.

This storage system from Land of Nod was the only new thing we got for this room. It is the perfect solution to tiny toys, books, movies, and really helps us stay organized.

The polka dot rug was in the nursery at the old house and I love that we got to find a new home for it at the new house. And Truffles the dog was a baby present for Hudson when he was born.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you remember this monkey from Hudson’s monthly updates. And the Happy Land pillow may be my favorite thing in the world! I got the pillow last summer when my mom and I were at market and I couldn’t wait to put it in the new playroom.

Sweet little Fiona is my shadow, so it’s remarkable she only made it into one photo!

The sofa was the very first piece of furniture we bought for our old house. It lived in our living room for five years and we moved it up to the playroom when we moved in here. It will probably need to be recovered someday, but it is so comfy. And it’s my favorite nap spot!

The green glider was in the nursery at the old house, too. I like that we were able to have enough seating in the playroom for when we have play dates and a few parents are hanging out in this room.

Resources and Information:

Paint color: Sherwin Williams Sea Salt cut to 50%

Sofa: Bernhardt (this sofa was in our living room in the old house)

Kids’ Chairs: Pottery Barn Anywhere Chair in large and extra large

Rug: Pottery Barn (this was the rug used in Hudson’s and Hayes’s nursery in the old house)

Storage system: c/o Land of Nod

Belonging Sign: House of Belonging

Nautical Pillow and Happy Land Pillow: Peking Handicraft (Happy Land pillow available at Heart and Home Collection)

Large Monkey and Large Stuffed Dog: Jelly Cats

Animal Artwork: Old Art Guy (oldartguy.com)

If you have any questions about the room, leave them in the comments and I’ll respond there.

Okay, so now for the giveaway! You can find the Happy Land pillow at Heart & Home Collection. But one of you can win one by entering the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Celebrating Easter 2014

Filed Under: Every Day, Holidays

Apr232014

We had such a great Easter weekend. My mom stayed in town through Monday, and we went to the 8:30 and 10:00 services at church to sing in the choir.

Todd’s parents and grandmother joined us for church and lunch, and we came home to eat right after church. I got some pretty darn good (and cooperative) pictures of the boys, but no family pictures.

The Easter bunny visits our house while we’re at church. (Todd and I get the baskets put together before we leave for church and one of us sets it out before the kids come back in the house after church. We don’t wake up early enough to do all that before church.)

The grandparents contributed bubble machines to the Easter baskets, too.

We ate lunch and then did our Easter egg hunt right after lunch. We did it at Todd’s office because there is just tons of space to run around. The boys loved that they had all the eggs to themselves!

We all came home for long naps and it was just a fun, relaxing day.

On Friday and Saturday, we attended two different Easter egg hunts at friends’ homes and had the best time. We loved dying eggs with Emily, Jack and Hazel. It’s fun to just let them make a mess and wipe it up with towels. Hudson was super excited about his decorated eggs this year.

The boys and I drove my mom to Atlanta to catch a plane on Monday morning. We ended up working in a trip to the Georgia Aquarium before we dropped her off, and it was such a great time. The boys were exhausted and missed naps that day, but I’m thankful for all the memories made!

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