Not a Social Creature

Last week was strangely busy for us.  I haven't cooked dinner in a week.  Our social calendar has been that booked.  On the nights we've been home we've been too hot or too tired (or both) to consider anything more than a sandwich or fruit.  Don't worry about me, though, as much as I've missed slaving away in the kitchen I've somehow managed to console myself.  What were we up to, you ask?  Well, the latter half of the week we had our anniversary, my monthly girl's night out, a friend's surprise birthday dinner, and a cookout/bonfire.  Plus we squeezed in that trip to the zoo.  You'd think by Sunday we'd have been ready for a break, right?  Instead we opted to clean out/reorganize the garage.  Lest that sound like not such a big deal, let me explain to you that we are not the types to have a tool or two stuck in among the cars.  Oh no, we have shelves and work benches and tool chests and so on...a supposed two car garage will fit one car.

Dinner last week.  Nine years.  Who'd have thunk it?

Needless to say, by the time this week rolled around I was exhausted.  I took two naps yesterday.  It doesn't help that it's been in the 90's the last few days.  Now, I have to admit that the 90's aren't too bad unless you're here in the south where it feels like you could drown in the humidity.  These days it's so icky outside that I've set my ac on 75; anything less makes me freeze when I come in.  We've pulled out the kid's inflatable pool, and they are content to splash around in that to cool off.  Putting my feet in there is like a bit of heaven.  This is one of the times I'd love to have an inground pool or at least belong to the Y so we could go swimming.  Oh well.

If you saw my last post you saw the trip to the zoo.  There's a nice little zoo with a petting zoo section about an hour from here.  Chase decided it would be a nice thing that he and Jordan could do Saturday morning.  I was not about to be left out of that so we loaded up both kids and a picnic lunch.  I had no idea I would end up on the back of an elephant before the day was done!  We all had fun, and even Connor got to feed some goats.  We were getting ready to leave when I lost Jordan.  I'm sure that most parents have had that experience.  First there's the mild irritation, why did she wander off when she knows better than that?  Then the apprehension as you realize she's nowhere in sight.  That icy fear in your gut as you walk around the store, half certain you're going to find her at the next rack.  The fear and shame fighting for supremacy as you ask other parents if they've seen a little girl about yay high, etc.  Then the panic trying to pound its way out of your chest as you realize she's freaking nowhere.  No where.  Not to mention all the horrible thoughts running through your head as to what's happened to her.  Fortunately for me, when I ran out to the truck to tell Chase and Connor that I couldn't find Jordan, she was already there.  When Chase left the gift shop with Connor to go start the car and put the stroller and all away, Jordan stayed with me.  She apparently decided that was boring after I got onto her for the seventh time for picking stuff up off the shelves so she went ahead and followed her daddy out.  The only problem with this is she neglected to seek my permission and Chase had already been gone for 2 or 3 minutes, long enough to get pretty far away.  As happy and relieved as I was to see her standing by the car, my fear turned into fury in a heartbeat.  I was left with no way to utilize all that adrenaline so I of course started crying.  Chase dealt with the kids for me while I tried to pull myself together.  I can honestly say I've never been that scared.  And I'm gonna beat the stuffing out of her if she ever does that again!  At least I can say it all ended well.

I think this is right after she said, "Yee haw!"

This week has been quieter, thank goodness.  I've been able to focus a bit more on my bird watching.  It's mine and Jordan's newest hobby, although I'll admit her attention span isn't very impressive.  What do you expect from a three year old?  She's gotten really good at pointing out the birds and describing the colors but tends to wave her arms and yell, "here birdie!"  I think they find that a bit distracting.  Too bad the method doesn't turn the squirrels away...

I've been struggling to capture a decent shot of the blue jay that keeps taunting me.  It's been an exercise in frustration!  I've managed to get a shot or two of some of the other birds that come to visit, but it's tough.  I have a new appreciation for the bird shots I find on some of the other blogs; it's not as easy to get a pretty shot as you'd think.  I did manage to get a butt shot of the dang blue jay and will have to be content with that for now.  At least I have something to show for all my waiting.  I've had to get a bird book so I can figure out what in the world I'm looking at on the feeder.  I've been calling my dad and saying, "Okay, this one is black and white and grey, small, really cute...what is it?"  I'm not saying I don't still do that; I just tend to check in the book first so I can tack, "could it be a chickadee," onto the end of the sentence.  Like I said, it's been fun and surprisingly peaceful.  What with the kids and dog and Chase, I can use a little peaceful now and again.