Oh blog, how I miss thee, let me count the ways...

I'm sorry. This blog has been collecting dust for a few weeks now, and for that I apologize. I honestly didn't know I had any readers left until I started receiving death threats and thinly veiled "suggestions" that I might want to get back to it! My existence as a person formerly known as a blogger has not been for lack of trying nor for lack of material. Matter of fact, I've written many a blog post in my head lately. Some of my best stuff, I must say. And I'll be the judge of that! ;)

Basically, my excuse is mayhem. Mayhem in the form of Harper Elle Peel. You see, we had an arrangement. An arrangement centered around her doing certain things at certain times. Things like eating, sleeping, napping, and playing. Apparently, someone threw out the playbook and forgot to tell me! She has been nothing short of a hurricane these last few weeks. She naps at MDO, but rarely at home. She wakes up before I've had my chance to get settled in the mornings. She took two hours to go down to bed last night, despite reading to her the most utterly boring material I could find. She has been clingier than usual. She wants her momma, and she isn't afraid to voice her preference. Sometimes she wants her daddy, and no one else will do. Luckily, she does still play well by herself, but those minutes have become tiny nuggets of gold for me. Tiny nuggets of time that I must use to breathe, pay bills, e-mail, do school work, work on volunteer obligations, clean, etc. Sadly, blogging has fallen to the bottom of the list. One of those "if there is time" things, which there never seems to be! Honestly, there never was extra time, but my ability to squeeze out an extra minute or two from other obligations has fallen to the wayside.

Basically, Harper has been driving us bonkers. To be fair, she has also granted us plenty of memorable moments of late, too. If it weren't for those gems, we would probably have listed her for sale on Craigslist by now. ;) We'll get through this rough patch, I'm sure. Sleep will return, teeth will emerge, independence will continue to flourish, and our sanity* may return. Maybe!

Excerpt from a conversation with Jeff last night:

ME: I think she's trying to kill me.

JEFF: I think she's got it in for me, too.

ME: Then who will feed her?

JEFF: Apparently, she hasn't thought this through!

* Results not typical.

They call me Dr. Peelgood

Ok, that is a complete lie. Not one person has ever come close to calling me Dr. Peelgood, but you know how I love to incorporate lyrics into my post titles. Just go with it for a second.

I’ve had a handful of doctor appointments and lab tests over the past two months. It really should not have taken two months, but they moved a couple appointments which I then cancelled and rescheduled, and then I switched doctors. It all made for a long, drawn out process! I’ll save you the drama and we’ll go with the super abbreviated version: routine physical exam detected protein in my urine (that’s “pee pee” for you mommies out there). I donated an obscene amount of pee to the lab for testing (seriously, several Thor-sized jugs that required refrigerator storage during the collection period! Eww!), and an ultrasound of my kidneys for kicks. You know, because I really enjoy sitting in a waiting room, topless underneath my hospital gown, while befriending an eighty-year old lady who asked me if she needed to keep her panties on and if I was pregnant. Yes and no? No and no? I really didn’t want to picture that lady in her panties—thanks!

Could have been this, could have been that, but lucky for me, it turned out to be nothing. Nothing = orthostatic proteinuria, which happens to be benign. It’s also rare in people my age as it is more commonly found in adolescents. I look young, right? My doctor, who I love and wish that he works on more than just kidneys, wants me to have a yearly urine check just to be safe.

Ok, so now that I know that I’m fine and will live to skydive yet again, I can tell you my short story about the annoying nurse who checked me in to my final appointment on Wednesday. You know how a nurse-type person typically checks your vitals and stats (Jenny, am I using the right terms? Help an NSC out!) before the doctor sees you for your appointment? Well, said lovely nurse-type person asked me to step on the scale, which I hate. As a former fat/chubby/drank way too much beer in college kinda gal, I despise weighing myself unless I’m on my home scale, nekkid. We’re talking about the girl who wore nearly the same, identical outfit to each of my maternity appointments so as not to skew the actual weight increase each week! Anyhoo, I step on the scale and sigh. Nurse lady skips the bottom measurement over to 150. As if I weigh more than 150! She scoffed when she realized that her first guess was wrong, and moved the bottom bar over to 100. Then she slid the top bar over to far right side thinking that if I’m not 150 I must be quickly approaching it. (Jerk!) She literally appeared pissed off when the scale measurements evenly lined up at my actual weight. Normally, I would not divulge that number, but for the sake of this story, I weighed/weigh 120 even. Really? Really? Did she think I had thirty pound weights slipped into my boots? Thanks for the boost of confidence, lady.

On that note, have I mentioned that I am a newfound lover of Zumba! You’ve got to move it, move it…

Who needs a birthday when you can celebrate all week?

[Editor's note: I am too tired to proofread this post, so continue at your own risk. Lara, put away your red pen!]

In the timeliest possible fashion, I will now share with you some pictures from Harper's weeklong birthday bonanza. I won't bore you with the details of events that have kept me from posting these within a reasonable amount of time, so just go ahead and thank me now.

We didn't do much birthday-wise on her actual birthday. Unfortunately, her big day fell on a Tuesday. Tuesday, terrible Tuesday, is my San Marcos day, which means I barely even saw Harper at all that day. My attitude (who me, an attitude?!) was not entirely pleasant in class that night, I must admit. I hate the fact that I have to drive 120 miles to sit in a class that I don't want to be in, and missing my daughter's first birthday bothered me just a tad. Anyhoo!

Harper celebrated her birthday with friends at a playgroup birthday brunch at our house. That was on Wednesday. Remember what I told you about Tuesdays? Picture me driving back from Austin at 5am on Wednesday morning, baking, cleaning, decorating (Loosely put. I decorated the table.), getting Harper ready for the day, bathing myself... let's just say that I was still in the nude not ten minutes before our first guests arrived. (Don't picture that. It's not pretty!) Regardless, fun was had by all. Right, all? Harper is blessed to already have so many wonderful friends in her life!

And now for the main course:

Her Haute Baby cupcake dress. Cute, cute!


Harper and Cambell playing with the "laptop."

Sweet girls! Piper, Makenzie and Blaire. (Sorry, Blaire, for all the times I've left off your "-e.")

Reaching out for the cupcakes!

Birthday? What's that?

Happy birthday to me...

Asking for permission to dive in...

Apparently, she eats cupcakes as if they were apples. Interesting technique!

Harper & Mom. No longer nekkid, thank goodness!

Harper partied with these kiddos all the way to lunchtime. Par-tay!

Harper, Cambell and Piper. We missed Kylee!

We celebrated with family that Saturday at Nana and Poppa Peel's house. They have the best backyard. Waaaaay better than our backyard. I mean, it's hard to compete with an Asian rain forest and four plastic Adirondack chairs, but somehow they beat us in the backyard makeover department. But I digress...

Harper and her cousin, Audrey, before the party.

Harper and Nana! And the Geico caveman? Niiiiice!

Oh, I just love this girl.

Mikelle took some pretty neat shots with her new camera!

Ain't no tutu gonna slow her down, oh no, she has to keep on movin.'

The cupcake cake...better in theory than real life. The cake itself was delish, I will say!

Umm, yeah. What to say?

Harper wants to thank everyone who helped her celebrate her first birthday! She also wants to know why tutus are not part of our everyday attire? I'm wondering that myself! (And all you Facebookers out there know that I expanded her tutu and then proceeded to wear it out in celebration of Lara's 30th birthday. Hey-O!)

P.S. Thanks to Deanna and Mikelle for sharing their pictures with me! Love y'all!

Terrible Tues-days

"Tuesday" has become a bad word in the Peel household. It makes for a very long day for all three of us. I spend all of 90 minutes with Harper on an average Tuesday. We have breakfast together before she goes to MDO, and then I see her for another 30 minutes between MDO and Nana's house. My goal is to leave Waco by 2:30 in order to arrive in San Marcos by 5PM. Class runs straight from 6:30 to 9:20. On the first Tuesday, I trekked all the way back to Waco, but it was a long and bumpy (construction) drive. I must have been midnight before I made it home. Ever since then, I've spent the night at Mikelle's place in Austin. It is really the only positive part of this routine! I especially enjoy farting and eating potato chips with my sister-in-law. It's really special. (By the way, Jeff, that is not what girls do when they get together. Well, unless your name is Alyssa.) On Wednesday morning, I wake up around 4:30-5:00AM to drive home. You should try it--it's like having your very own personal highway. IH-35 is a beautiful, quiet place at that hour. I'm in the kitchen drinking coffee and making breakfast before Jeff, Harper or Wrigley wake up. Thankfully, this song and dance will only last through this semester. I don't think I have the energy to make it any longer than that!

On the other hand, Tuesdays are always an adventure for Harper. She has the most fun at MDO--I'm really so glad she has taken to her teachers and classmates. Then she spends three or four hours at Nana's house before Jeff picks her up after work. They spend the evening together eating dinner and playing before its time for bath and bed. I really hate my side of this deal, but I think it is wonderful that Harper and Jeff get to spend this extra special time together. I imagine it isn't easy on him, but I'm grateful that he is willing and able to take care of her on his own. Thanks, Jeff!

While I really dislike Tuesdays, Harper must really enjoy them. She plays with friends at school, plays with Nana, plays with Wrigley and then plays with Daddy. Notice I didn't mention that she naps on Tuesdays? Oh yeah, it's because she doesn't! :/ Don't get me started on that...naps, naps, oh, how I miss thee! I sure could use 'em, especially on Weary Wednesdays!

Talk the talk

Harper and I had a conversation Wednesday morning before her playgroup birthday brunch. She had a lot on her mind!

Year in review

It seems absurd to think of all that has happened over the last year in the world...a complete collapse of our financial system, U.S. GDP shrank for the first time in seventeen years, hurricane recovery, election of a new president, swine flu, China hosted the Olympics, Jell-O brought back Puddin' Pops (I WISH!), Pam and Jim got knocked up...oh, and sweet baby Harper evolved from a lump of baby to a walkin', talkin' one-year old. Sheesh! (I've taken the liberty to omit certain events, however significant, from the above recap of the past year. I got distracted when I started thinking about the deliciousness that was Jell-o Puddin' Pops. Mmmm....)

I'm so proud to be her mother. I think I can speak on behalf of Jeff and say we are both incredibly proud to have her as our daughter. Our adventurous, spunky, stubborn, caring, cuddly, energetic, dancing queen, golf ball-lovin', 90 miles an hour, Evil Knievel daughter! Simply put, she is a nutcase, but I couldn't possibly love her any more for it. I see bits and pieces of myself in her, and I see bits and pieces of Jeff, too. I'm loving the way her personality is developing. She's, like, one of my coolest friends! (Ok, so maybe she is my only friend some days, but who's counting?) She is a tough boss with discriminating taste, and not all moments are good ones. But, I'll gladly take any of it in exchange for one of her warm hugs or high fives. What can I say? She's just Harper!

So, happy first birthday to my favorite little girl, Harper Elle Peel. Here's to many more!

The new family! Nice scrubs, Jeff.

I can't believe she ever weighed six pounds!

The MiniPeel becomes a little lady! She luh-luh-loves her birthday present! (Pats self on back...)

T-1 Days

Today is Harper's last day as an eleven-month old. I still find it unfathomable that she will turn one tomorrow. The last 364 days have flown by in a hurry... As if on cue, Jeff just walked in the door and exclaimed "you've kept a baby alive for an entire year!" I sure hope I get a prize! ;)

Abilene or bust...

We spent nearly six days in Abilene over Labor Day weekend. Jeff played golf for four days in a row, God Bless us all! Good thing there were plenty of rest stops along the way.

Yes, this is the above mentioned rest stop. If you can't tell, there is a rooster playing a horn next to a commode (such a nice way to say toilet).

One of these days I'll find time to post a slew of fun pics from our mini-vacay to Lake McQueeney and the Abilene trip. Some real gems, I tell ya! Like I said, one of these days....

While the cat's away...

...the mice will play. Or the mice/dogs will sleep. Something like that.

Dozer gets the special treatment while Mom is out.

This is what happens when an English Bulldog attempts to fit into the bed of a mini-Dachshund. Tight squeeze!

Your mom goes to college

Mother's Day Out -- here we come! Harper started MDO last Tuesday, and we both think it is awesome! No first day picture, but I'll give you two pics from her second day! What a deal, eh?

Harper's teachers said she was great both days. She played the entire time, barely looking up to wave bye when I dropped her off. I really think MDO is going to be great for both of us. For goodness sakes, last Tuesday was the first time I've been alone in our house in almost a year! (Jeff--that 30 minute errand to Best Buy with Harper was nice, but it hardly constituted as alone time.)

Aside from preserving whatever remains of my sanity, another purpose of Harper starting MDO is to free up time for me to work on my own school schtuff. As I mentioned before, I've re enrolled at Texas State (long live SWT!) to finish up my MPA degree. The capstone project for the program is rather intensive (though what master's degree isn't?), and it will require a substantial amount of my time and energy to make it to graduation in May.

Unfortunately, Harper has been sick for the last couple of days and will miss both installments of MDO this week. I had to drive to San Marcos yesterday evening for class, which meant Jeff left work early to play Dr. Mom. A two-hour trip (each way) to sit in class for three hours...ugh. I'm already behind...ugh. Can I say "ugh" again? To make matters worse, I came down with a stomach bug last night, and Jeff thinks he may have the flu. He is at the doctor's office right now, so hopefully he will come home with news that he has what we had and not the silly flu!

Keep your fingers crossed that I can catch up and still make this arrangement work for everyone. I, myself, am worried!