This Is Kristin

At the baby shower I went to, they had a place where you could write down some parenting advice on a card, that they would put in a photo album for the mom to be, to keep and read, and enjoy as a special keepsake.

They said it could be special advice geared toward boys, but I thought that saying “don’t be surprised at how many times you have to say, ‘keep your hands out of your pants,’” to little boys would be that “sentimental” of a piece of advice to write on a keepsake card.

I thought about how cool it would be to continually receive those books of advice from moms who’d been through all the different stages before.

I was talking to an older mom, after we’d written our sentiments, and she told me what she’d written down. She said that the best advice she’d received was, “don’t forget to enjoy your children. You spend so much time training, disciplining, and shaping them, getting through the day, but you can enjoy them through this process.”

This was a great piece of advice for me. I do spend so much time worrying about how they are turning out, and thinking through ways to train them, and teach them, that sometimes I think I forget to enjoy the process, to enjoy the moments, to just enjoy them.

So, if you were to write down a piece of advice or a quote about parenting, what would it be? What is the best piece of parenting advice you’ve received?

• June has been our month of company, and our last visitors of the month, Brody’s parents,  have arrived.  Upon their arrival, they got sick!  They feel awful, and we feel awful for them.  Hopefully they are better soon.  
• I went to a baby shower for a friend of mine today, and it was so wonderful.  She was my first “TN friend,”  and is so thrilled to be having her first baby boy, and I am so happy for her.  Her friends giving the shower are super creative, so the decorations were beautiful, and the food delicious. 
• My garden is overgrowing.  The pumpkin plant is going to take over soon!  We ate some green beans, and snap peas from the garden thus far, and there are many tomatoes getting ready to redden up. I’m still amazed that things are actually growing!  
• My brain is only in fact giving mode, and that’s all I got for now.  
• Happy 4th of July week, and go watch the video on Brody’s blog 

Blue has been keeping a journal this summer as a way to continue writing and drawing. He really doesn’t “love” to do it, so I was glad to come upon this blog post with ideas for a summer journal, and ways to make it a bit more exciting!

~Anyone else doing the summer journals? How’s it going?

Last year I missed my Dad’s birthday. I completely forgot about it, and about a week passed before I realized it. I felt terrible, and so when I called him I was already apologizing as he answered. He just laughed and said, “I was waiting to see how long it would take you to remember!” I got him a “Merry Christmas, sorry it’s late” card, as a joke, and this year I made sure to remember.

A month before my birthday he showed up on my porch with a cake and a birthday present for me. I was confused for a minute, thinking that I really had screwed up my days, and then he said, “if you can mix up birthday’s can’t I?” Then he had me come out to his car where he had boughten me a bird bath, that I’ve been saying I wanted for my flower garden!

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“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.” ~Psalm 127:3

Brody and I are lucky to have great dads’, our boys are lucky to have great Papas’ and a great dad too! Hope that all the dads out there have a wonderful father’s day!

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Brody tells me that the Rocky movies are the best, and that I would love them, I would cry at the end and that it would be great. I have tried to watch them a few times, never successfully watching them all the way through. This is how they seem to me:

Open with punching, sweating and jumping around.
“I gotta fight him.” – Rocky
“You don’t gotta fight him” – wife
“He’s gotta fight him” – random person, or coach or someone.

More boxing, punching, running, and really sweaty people. At this point, I am off in my own head trying to figure out if it’s baby oil that they use to make people look that sweaty? Then do they spray them with water to make it look drippy? Shouting draws me back into the movie, when everyone talks about why he should or shouldn’t fight him, and then I fall asleep.

So, the thing is, I believe that these are good movies, because Brody has good taste in movies. He knows me, and he knows what I would or wouldn’t like in a movie. I told him we’ll have to have a Rocky marathon, and I’m determined to not loose attention after the awesome James Brown dance scene next time, and to try to get into the movie, and find out why these movies are classics.

Last night we were able to go down to see a bunch of country artists at the Titans stadium as the finale of the CMA week here in Nashville. Brody wanted me to come and experience what he’s been experiencing out on the road with Billy and Sugarland.

I knew going into this that country music was it’s own genre, but I didn’t expect to feel like I was in a whole other culture. It was definitely a new and fascinating experience for me, and I am quickly realizing why mommies don’t routinely stay out until 2 am.

Ever have one of those moments happen where you wish you’d had a video camera, because it was just so funny, and you wish you could replay it for people?

Yesterday, I had one of those moments. The boys and I went to a walking trail/ creek with some friends, and we were all down by the creek, jumping across on rocks. The kids found a dead snake on the opposite side of the creek, and my friend decided he needed to inspect it for the kids to make sure it was really dead. He walks over and picks up the snake with a stick, then starts to turn around and come back across the creek, with an evil smile on his face. His wife starts yelling, “No, drop it, drop it!” I start backing up, and getting my water bottle in a position which I can throw and easily hit him. He starts stretching the stick, with the dead snake on it, closer and closer to his wife, who is not moving but yelling louder and louder. He’s laughing, and then carelessly goes to toss the snake into the creek, but instead, tosses it onto himself, and jumps backward, yelling.

That’s what you get for trying to throw a dead snake on your wife.

Maybe you had to be there, or maybe I needed a video camera to show you the hysteria of the moment, either way, it was funny to us.

This family is fixing up a little cottage in france…. 

…. Which is right across the street from a castle….

Last night I also happened to watch a show of a couple who was looking for a run down cottage on the edge of the Mediterranean sea in Italy, that they could fix up. It was a beautiful view that they had.

Obviously this is so unrealistic for most people, but just for fun, what part of the world would you move to, if you could?

I love how my garden is growing, and can not wait to eat some of those veggies!