Summer’s End

While Summer may not technically be over yet, it certainly feels that way.  School buses are in full force now and the leaves are changing on some of my favorite trees and temperatures are beginning to cool as well.  Enzo hopped on a bus to Kindergarten today, taking a piece of my heart with him as his smile practically exploded out of his face.

It was kind of perfect then that this last weekend before school commenced was so nice.  On Monday (after a couple of long, busy days) all the kids wanted to do was hang out and after I returned from shopping we went outside to enjoy that beautiful weather.

I was a little disappointed that we didn’t seem to have any monarchs this year on our Milkweed, but we still saw plenty this weekend, nonetheless, and some happy little bumblebees.

It says Mom ♥ Enzo ♥ Phoebe.  Sure, kiddo, just melt my heart a little more.  My eyes are watering because of allergies.  Allergies, okay??

This little lady also moved into the Preschool room this week. She still seems to think she’ll be going back to the Pre-Preschool room, however, and it’s taking some time to convince her that her old teachers are not her teachers anymore.

Thanks for a fabulous day, Universe.

The Zoo! Again!

I know what you’re thinking… the zoo again?  Well, that’s what happens when you have a membership.  You tend to go a lot.  Plus, I really wanted to see the new baby tiger, and the kangaroos will be going away soon, so it just seemed like the right time to go back. Also, I kind of insisted on it since everyone was cranky and I will not be trifled with!

Besides… isn’t she adorable?  I should have brought my better camera, but didn’t, so I guess I’ll just have to go back soon. Granted, it’s also hard to shoot through glass that is smeared and has a ton of glare.  Serious cute aggression happened, though.

It was overcast and we seemed to have arrived during nap time for most of the animals… again. Haha!

These kangaroos were not about to get up and I found it amusing that there were just a bunch of kangaroos lounging on a hill that usually has bison hanging out on it…

Sometimes it’s really just best not to ask what they’re doing.

Also… note to self that it’s time to invest in better anti-aging creams… Seriously??

Excitement, however!!  I have NEVER seen the beaver out when we’ve been to the zoo and there he/she was!

And then more animals slept…

We did get to see the Lynx stalk a bird, which was fun.  It was so cute when it’s butt and little tail started to do the whole wiggle.

They had to climb and fight over every single one of these damn statues throughout the zoo.  WHY???

Cuddle party, Lemur style!

The bats will never cease being cool.

Another guy we often don’t see up close… both of them actually. They don’t move and they always look fake.

A bigger version of Bowser. Ha!

And a flamboyance of Flamingos.  They are such a strange, but glorious bird.

And that is all I’ve got for this slightly overcast Wednesday.  We have Enzo’s Kindergarten open house this afternoon and then plans to go the gym, so we’ll see how that goes. We’re going to drop the kids off in gym childcare and see how the evening progresses!

Week In Review – TV, Zoo, and Almost Burning the House Down

Happy Monday!

Linking up with Meghan from Clean Eats, Fast Feets for another Week in Review!

Oh, what a week.  It’s been busy and a tad chaotic and on Monday while everyone was enjoying the lunar eclipse, it was overcast and we had a slight mishap could have ended up fairly bad had I not been working from home.  I mean, maybe the house wouldn’t have burned down, but poor Bowser could have perished.  So… what happened?  We had a temporary lighting situation set up while I waited for a more permanent fixture to arrive.  On Monday, I went upstairs and immediately smelled something burning.  I looked around and realized that there was smoke in Bowser’s habitat.  I panicked and then saw that the light had come unattached from the top of his cage and had swung down and was touching his fabric hammock, which was smoldering.  I got him out right away and he was okay, but that scared the crap out of me.

On Tuesday I went to Target (as you do) during my lunch break.

There was plenty of TV and game watching this week, actually.  Trying to keep everyone out of some severe funkiness, and for me that sometimes just means doing nothing.

Apparently, Vega and I have been buddies this week. Haha!

Sometimes eating your feelings isn’t always a bad thing either?

A little gaming helped lighten the mood a tad on Friday night, so there was that.

On Saturday we attempted to get some stuff done around the house and Molly was kind enough to come over and bring me wine and and help me keep an eye on the kids.  Sometimes it’s nice to just have a friendly ear to talk to.

On Sunday, I insisted we get out of the house and get some sunshine and what have you.  Also… I really, really wanted to see the baby tiger.  It helped moods a tad, but in the end everyone was still just a tad cranky.

At least I tried, right?  Haha!  We ended up stopping for apps and happy hour before heading home.

Then I had to watch the Game of Thrones Season Finale.  So good.

And now, here we are at Monday again.  Since I start my work day earlier on Mondays, I’ll be able to head to the gym to hopefully begin a new weekly routine. We’re going to try and work in at least 2-3 gym workouts a week and see how that goes!  On that note… Happy Monday!

August Blogging Fail

Well, so much for blogging every day in August. You know… I’m not even sorry. I haven’t been in the mood, and I’m okay with that. Things have been both slightly quiet and dull, but at the same time busy and I have a lot on my mind, just nothing I have wanted to write about.  Honestly, I haven’t even picked up my camera and I’m just trying to figure out where this month went and what I’ve been doing.

This photo? Not new…

Not this one either.

I suppose I’m at one of those points where I’m not sure where I want this blog to go. Do I keep it up for myself?  Do I attempt to make it something more that attracts more readership, and is that even possible considering I’m not exactly spectacular at writing or even that interesting.  (Not fishing for compliments here, just genuinely unsure what I would blog about that would capture a vast amount of readers’ attention).  I also just have other things going on, and I’m not sure if it wouldn’t be better to focus more on those things.

Maybe it’s it’s just the eclipse talking… I hear the effects can last a while and I know a lot of people have mentioned they have been feeling “off” for lack of a better word. Making rash decisions, being far more compulsive than usual or moody.

From my favorite Chani Nicholas for this week and to come:

During eclipses, we are asked to understand where in our lives we feel eclipsed. What issues we are harboring that tend to eclipse our ability to heal. What wounds rob us of joy and connection. So that we can bring a little bit more awareness to the work we need to do. So that we can be better agents in the process of the world’s healing. So that we can be better agents in our own healing. 

The meaning of eclipses do not unfold in one day. They unpack themselves over longer stretches of time. They occur in the same sign over the course of a couple of years, revealing  the potency of these portals slowly. This week’s total solar eclipse is one of a cluster occurring in Leo from 2017-2019. It is arguably the most dramatic of all of them and the most visually stunning, but remember that it isn’t the whole story.

We’ll have to live out the rest, in order to truly appreciate its significance.

She is always SPOT ON if you’re into that and want to read your own.

On that note, I think I have rambled enough. Time to go retire back into introverted thinking while outwardly maintaining a persona of productivity and optimism. 😉

Week In Review – Ren Fest, Books and Games, Oh My!

Happy Monday!

Linking up with Meghan from Clean Eats, Fast Feets for another Week in Review!

It’s been an interesting week, and from the sound of things it has been that way for a lot of people.  I think an eclipse is like a full moon on steroids in that regard! Considering today is only getting weirder… I’m going to keep this short.

I was so stoked to get the Lego Disneyland Castle finished last Monday night.

We discovered that Enzo loves these sriracha chips from Trader Joe’s as much as I do.

Had a decent book haul!  I love, love sales and awesome pricing. Haha!

On Saturday, Kendra and I went to the Ren Fest, which was a blast!

We were up late Saturday night so Sunday was a very relaxed and laid back day until I suggested we go get some shopping done at Target, which turned into lunch because Josh hadn’t eaten anything and then we ended up at a massive candy store and spent a boatload of cash on a ridiculous amount of junk food… we never even made it to Target. I blame the eclipse entirely.

May the rest of the week be balanced… please??  Especially considering the house could have burnt down this morning, but we’ll talk about that another day.  Just… oy.