This year we did something a little different for Father’s Day.  I still cooked K-Man his favorite foods and we still spent some family time together.  But my mom came down to watch the bug for us so we could go to the first annual John Wetzel Memorial Race.

John passed away in January this year and he was a very dear friend of ours.  We miss him very much and have enjoyed being with his famliy, also our close friends, to share his memories.

The race and tailgating was amazing.  There must have been 60 of us all sporting t-shirts in his honor.  It felt good to sit in the bleachers again and it brought back a lot of memories from K-Man’s racing days.  There is just something about the smell of racing the fuel and the taste of ice cold beer on a hot June day.  It was of course one of the hottest days of the summer yet and by then end of the night I was tired, sweaty and covered in dirt.  But every second of it was worth it and so much fun.

John’s brother drove the 61J in the feature parade laps.  It was a very touching moment to see the 61J on the track again.  The only thing that could have made it better is if John himself were in the driver seat getting ready to kick some butt.  We miss you so much John!  Your memory will live on forever.

If I post super cute pictures will you please not stone me for being gone so long?

That would be my adorable niece on the left!  She is 14 months and makes me want another baby so bad!  PJ loves her cousin.

We have been busy as always at our place.  We are preparing for the big 2 year birthday and adjusting our house to fit this soon to be 2 year old.  After much discussion we have decided it is time to switch to a big girl bed.  Our dc provider told me yesterday that PJ is sleeping on mat like the rest of the big kids now!  So I think we are going this weekend to get a twin size mattress and box spring.  I want my baby back!!

We are also working on potty training.  We are averaging about 3 times a week using the potty which I think is great!  PJ is starting to tell us when she needs to go which is a huge step in the right direction.

As much as I miss my tiny baby, the little girl that J is growing up to be is pretty amazing.  She is so smart and funny!  We have our moments when I really want to pull my hair out but I have to realize that she is just testing us!

The hot weather has arrived to our state!  K-man and I are going to look at pools this weekend.  We have a great public pool but K-man doesn’t get home until late and would just like to be able to chill in his own yard.  I’ll hopefully post pictures of a shiny new pool soon!

Since hubby and I have moved to our current home I’ve always attempted to have a garden.  The first couple of years I bit off more then I could chew and that resulted in out of control cucumber plants and sagging tomatoes.  In 2007 we got the bright idea to redo the garden in containers near the house.  We decided to plant only tomatoes and some flowers.  The main reason we did this is because we hadn’t really had luck with the bigger garden.  The secondary reason was the thought of a very pregnant me working out in the garden kind of made K-Man panic.

Things were going great in 2007!  My flowers looked good and I was even remembering to water things and give them fertilizer.  Then the swelling set in and by the time I was able to go out in the evenings and water I could barely walk.  Then Princess came along and I was in that new parent sleep deprived fog.  If I had 10 extra minutes I was going to spend that in the shower or sleeping…not watering a garden!

In 2008 we decided to give it another try.  Once again my plants were looking wonderful.  We decided to move them to the back yard where they would get more sun because I had plenty of green tomatoes but they weren’t getting ripe.  Then it rained for like a month straight and we didn’t realize until it was too late that we set our beloved tomato plants right in the pond in our back yard.  I think I got a whopping 5 tomatoes last year from 4 plants.

You would think with my track record that I would just go to the farmer’s market to purchase home grown tomatoes.  Unfortunatly I’m a little on the stubborn side and refuse to give up.  Plus this year I have J-Bug…she is my seceret weapon.

So far we have done 2 pots of flowers that are thriving!  We have also planted 3 tomato plants, 3 green pepper plants and 1 hanging basket.  We have the flowers for a second hanging basket to balance out the Shepard’s Hook and will have them planted by the weekend.  I think part of the success so far is location.  Everything is in the front yard where they will get wonderful morning light and then be partially shaded from the intense noon and early afternoon sun.  But the bigger part of the success needs to be given to J-Bug.  She loves to garden and is always reminding me to go outside and water the flowers.

I hope all of your gardens fair as well as ours has this year!

It is a beautiful rainy day here today.  Perfect really after a long stretch of sunny days.  You need a little rain to break up the sunshine I think.  But, alas, it is making me a little blue….  The rain is making me think of what I would be doing if I were at home with J Bug right now….

If I were at home with Princess we would be napping with the windows open covered by the “soft blankie”.  I always put PJ in her crib for sleep time.  I can only count a handful of times in the last year when I haven’t.  She sleeps better in her bed and I usually use nap time to get household chores done.  But not today.  Today we would curl up together and I would cherish the feel of her warm little body next to me.

We would be so tired because if we were home right now we would have spent the morning doing something very important to us.  PJ and I would have baked daddy cookies.  Very serious and very hard work!  After baking cookies and cleaning up we would sit on the floor and play This Little Piggy or tickle monster.  Together we would sing Twinkle Twinkle and our ABC’s a hundred times.  Do you see why we would be so tired?

After our long nap we would sit out on the porch and watch it rain some more.  PJ would take my order…her new favorite pass time…and make me turkey.  Then she would insist on brushing my hair and putting on my make-up and primping me until I look just right.  By this time in the day I would have to break myself away from my little mini me for just a few moments to switch out some laundry but she wouldn’t mind.  Princess loves to unfold the laundry I fold and refold it herself.

Perfection.  A 4 day weekend with my little bug.  It hurt to drop her off today…. I know it hurt her too.  Because it is raining and she knows that rainy days are best spent with mommy.  Baking cookies for the man we both love and cuddling and laughing and sleeping.

I miss my little bug today…..

3 tickets on opening night: $49

dinner at Perkins: $30.93

Parking: $6

Seeing Princess J’s face light up with the opening number: Priceless!

If you have young children and the chance to see this show, please take them!  PJ loved the show and was so good!  I’m pretty sure that is the longest I’ve seen her be occupied with something since we introduced her to The Fox and the Hound!  I’m so glad we went.

I really thought Abby Cadabby would steal the show for my little girl…but I was wrong.  When Elmo came out I’m pretty sure she wet herself!  And when the furry little monster left…she cried!  She sang and danced along to itsy bitsy spider and even did her best to participate with the characters.  When she noticed that Elmo and Abby were going out into the audience she held up her hands…I’m so sad I didn’t spring for the VIP seats that would have allowed her to hug them!  When all was said and done we did leave about 10 minutes early because PJ’s eyes were drooping and her 22 month attention span was shot.

With that being said….producers of Sesame Street Live:

Ditch the intermission.  Make the show an hour long and sell your $8 Elmo balloons (we didn’t get one) after the show.  I promise you will still sell 200 of them…..especially if you make sure parents have to pass the balloons to get out the door.

Other fun and exciting family activities we want to do this summer:

Omaha Zoo
Iowa Cubs Game
Iowa State Fair
Farmers market

We just love giving our girl happy things to dream about!

That is exactly how I would describe my Mother’s Day!  We kept things pretty low key this year.  Just spent the day with our moms and our beautiful daughter and niece.  Instead of the chicken I expected, PJ decided to get me some lovely picture frames for my soon to be gallery wall.  I just love them and can’t wait to see her pictures in them!

Instead of going out to eat this year I decided to do what I do best….I cooked brunch to honor our mothers.  The menu was fruit salad, a yummy sausage, egg, hash brown and cheese casserole and my famous homemade cinnamon rolls.  What do you think?  Trust me…it was just as good as it looks!

After brunch and some visiting with the family we layed PJ down for a nap and mom and I headed to town for a pedicure!  I tell you what…I need to do this more often!  My toes are beautiful and my feet feel wonderful!

Like I said…it was a pretty uneventful day.  I love when we can just relax and spend time with our family without rushing around.  Our big exciting news for the weekend is….  WE ARE TAKING PJ TO SEE SESAME STREET LIVE!!!  Friday night!  I’m so excited and can’t wait to share pictures with everyone!!

I love a good life lesson.  They make me realize things in my life and help me to be a better person all around.  I love them even more when my daughter teaches them to me and they make me a better mommy.

Saturday JBug and I had to run into Des Moines to get Mother’s Day gifts and the rest of the food for Sundays brunch.  Oh yeah…I threw a brunch to honor the moms…more about that later.  Anyway, one of our stops was the mall.  So we went and got the grandma’s their gifts and PJ and I decided to stop at the food court and eat.  We had such a wonderful time sharing a slice of pizza and salad.  I found us a nice little corner booth and we sat next to each other.  She had to stand or be on her knees so she could reach the table and after each bite she would grab my face, kiss me and tell me she loved me.  We took our time and spent a good 30 minutes eating our meal.  Then I let her walk instead of ride in the stroller back to our car…on the other side of the mall.

I realized while I was getting pizza face kisses that my time with JBug needs to me more about quality.  We spend a lot of time together.  The girl is my little side kick.  But it isn’t always quality time.  We are so busy at night that we rush home to fix supper, rush through supper, rush to take a bath and then read a couple of books quickly or just cuddle.  On the weekends we are on the go and if we are at home I’m cleaning or catching up on laundry from the week.

I wanted to cry when this hit me because now I feel like I haven’t given her enough of me in the last 22 months…which I know isn’t true.  I love this little girl so much that I can’t even put that love into words.  When I really sit down and think about it my heart swells and almost breaks because I love her so so much.  It is a love that she won’t even understand until she is much older and a mother herself.  In those moments Saturday night I realized that I need to slow down and enjoy this.  If a load of laundry doesn’t get done it isn’t going to be the end of the world.  If I get pizza on my face and shirt because she is giving me hugs and kisses then I need to realize how lucky I am to have those hugs and kisses.  This is my promise to you Princess….more quality time with Mommy and Daddy.  Less rushing and more slowing down to look at the rock or flower with you, even if that means it takes us longer to get somewhere.  More sweet little girl…more of everything we can give you…..

My dear sweet husband called me today to relay a conversation he had with Princess….

K-Man “PJ…what do you want to get mommy for Mother’s Day?”

PJ “Ummm…chicken!”

Last year I got toast and coffee in bed and a gift certificate for a massage.  This year I’ll be hosting a Mother’s Day brunch and getting chicken…  I will be teaching Princess how to say diamonds for next year!

Don’t forget to spoil your moms on Sunday.  They do a lot more then you could ever imagine!

Princess J got to experience the country life a little over the weekend thanks to our good friends.  They have recently purchased a bottle calf for the boys and invited us out for a visit.  PJ is currently obsessed with animals…especially farm animals…so I couldn’t pass this one up!

We were greeted at the farm by a couple of coon dogs.  PJ does a wonderful coon dog impersination.  Once our friend arrived and unloaded the boys were were off.

Now…I’m like 90-95% city.  We live in a very small town and I consider it in the country because I have to drive 8 miles to the nearest grocery store.  So I show up at the farm wearing capris and flip flops.  PJ was also sporting capris but thankfully I had enough sense to put tennis shoes on her!  Anyway…the point is we had to actually walk through the pasture a little to get to the barn that housed Olive (the bottle calf).  Thankfully the ground was too muddy but we still did have to be careful of the cow pies…and I carried PJ  because she said it was icky.

We walked into the barn and there stood the cutest little cow I think I have ever seen!  I’m pretty sure PJ peed her pants.  She smiled and said “Hi cow!”  My little girly girl even pet the cow and got a kiss!  I love that I have friends that live in the country so that I can give PJ a taste of this life too!  As soon as everyone is healthy we are going to make another trip out to the farm to gather chicken eggs!