Better eat your Wheaties

Harper attempts cereal WITH milk for the first time... Oh, the little things.

Please disregard Jeff's emphysema and Harper's bedhead.

Clean up on aisle four

Thursday morning, approximately 8:40 a.m.

Mom: Harper, it's time to go to school. Let's go - grab your backpack, please.

(Shouts from the kitchen towards the other side of the house.)

Harper: .....

Mom: Harper, c'mon, we need to get in Mommy's car.

(Heads towards Harper's room to corral her towards the front door.)

Mom: What in the?! Really? All the food from your room?

(Watches in disbelief as Harper shuffles her feet through the plastic food.)

Harper: Hi!

(Smiles. Picks up new measuring spoons and heads for the front door.)

Kiss and tell...

It's no secret that Harper loves her friend, Carson. He lives on our street, and we are friends with his parents, so the thought of Carson stays fresh on her mind at all times. I can bribe her with the chance of seeing "Car-Car," and once I even convinced her to take a nap because she could be sure that Carson was napping at his house, too! You can only imagine how excited she was on Sunday when she learned that we were going to the zoo with him later that afternoon...IF she took a nap, of course!

We headed out to the Cameron Park Zoo, and it could not have been a more beautiful day. Sunny, close to 70 degrees - hard to imagine we received several inches of snow only two days later! We are so lucky that we can drive ten minutes and spend as little or as much time as we want at a pretty nifty zoo. Not too many cities can boast of such a thing! Anyhoo, fun was had by all...and maybe even a love connection! Somebody call Chuck Woolery!

Possibly ammo to use in a senior yearbook? Class of 20__?

We approached the bear as he finished pooping...awkward!

Somehow we never discovered this great slide during our previous zoo trips!

Loved it!

And one fun ride for Dad!

Ahhhh - holding hands! This is where it starts!

Carson goes in for the kiss...

...and Harper comes at him with tongue. Really, Harper?? Sheesh!

Tiger Woods & Toilet Bowl XLIV

Super Bowl weekend did not go exactly as planned for the Peel household. Just be glad that we did not show up at any of your game-watching parties! Jeff dubbed the weekend "Toilet Bowl XLIV," because our family spent most of our time in the bathroom instead of in front of the television like most of America. Seriously, who loses weight on Super Bowl weekend?! It is meant to be a weekend of indulgence and glutton, if you will, but not at the Peelton. We subsisted on a steady diet of Gatorade and saltine crackers.

Speaking of Gatorade, I must say thank you to Tiger Woods and his numerous infidelities. I can think of no other reason as to why Walgreens has clearanced out his line of Gatorade drinks for a mere 50 cents when all of the other flavors sell for $1.99. I have seen the same cashier every day for the last three days, and I finally bought the last four bottles this morning. She seemed somewhat concerned, yet impressed with my savvy shopping. Thanks, Ti-gee, as Harper would say.

I fell victim to the bug when I woke up on Saturday morning. Jeff had to man Harper all day while I was bedridden. Then she got sick shortly after bedtime on Saturday night, and threw up for the next several hours. Jeff took another one for the team helping Harper christen each and every toilet bowl in our house. You know, holding her hair back and such. ;) Our laundry pile more than doubled that night, and of course, we were out of detergent. (This girl bought a Thor-sized bottle at Target last week, which somehow did NOT make it into my car? Go figure!)

I woke up feeling much better on Sunday, and we waited patiently to see if Jeff would get sick or not. Harper didn't throw up and had normal diapers, but she didn't eat much and acted rather sluggish. I wasn't surprised because I knew she had to have been exhausted from lack of sleep that night. Jeff made it through the day without any major incidents. Until this morning...

Jeff woke up with a case of "tummy sticks," as we like to call it. Harper seemed to be better, and without thinking, I gave her her usual cup of morning milk. Unfortunately, she had a few sips before I wised up and remembered that she should avoid dairy for a little while longer. I gave her Gatorade instead and didn't think much more about it. We then headed out to pick up the mail for Jeff's office and take care of a few other quick errands when it happened. Revenge of the milk! Out of nowhere, Harper spewed curdled milk ALL OVER MY CAR. I want to puke now just thinking about it! I am shuddering at the thought of it...

After rushing home to clean up my sweet girl, I had to grab the cottage cheese-covered car seat from my car and figure out how to clean that disgusting mess. Trust me, if you can avoid it, you never ever want to have to try and take apart and clean a Britax car seat. It may qualify as one of the most difficult tasks I have ever attempted. Aside from having to get way too close to the offensive puke, I barely managed to get the seat and cover cleaned....please cross your fingers that I can get it all back together in its intended fashion!

Well, Harps finally fell back asleep on her pull out couch, wearing her adorable Strawberry Shortcake robe made by Grammy, and Jeff is asleep in bed. I think I may have to take a nap myself for I suspect I may have a looooooooong day ahead of me!

Let's pray for a speedy recovery for all of our friends and family feeling under the weather! Oh, and how 'bout them Saints?!