A little snip-it of why I "tri"

i tri...

to clear my head

to be an inspiration to my children

to breathe

to resurrect my childhood athlete

to eat chocolate

because it makes me happy

to feel strong

because it makes me feel so good

to prove girls are just as awesome as boys

to inspire others

to be with friends

to appreciate what i have

to drink wine with out regret

because it brings me closer to myself

to get peace and quiet

to see that admiration in my husband's eye

to feel confident

because my Mermaids rock!

to challenge my fears

because it brings me peace

I tri for me ...

Back to School Blues ...

Julia's first dance class!

My bike/transition area for the Farmington Women's Triathlon!

In our wetsuits -- 60 degree day!

Is this the last time we will see Emma on a soccer field?

Emma's first day of school (love that Julia is still in her PJ's yet so so cute!)

The summer is officially over, and fall is creeping right in. Though I do really love fall and the crisp air, yummy apples, and pumpkin spiced ... everything, I do have to admit I have a case of the "back to school" blues.

It is not easy to put into words, other than ... I really really liked our summer rhythm. I don't like the hustle and bustle of out the front door by 7:30 a.m. - no leisurely breakfasts with the girls, no snuggling on the couch till 10 a.m., no mid morning craft projects, no nap time for Mommy to clean up, make a healthy lunch and catch up on my phone gabbing, laundry, GH, or just enjoy the peace and quiet for 2 hours. Instead we are faced with condensing all of those things into 2 days over the weekend. YUCK. Plus you have to put faith in a brand new school/teacher to take good care of your little girl. By the way, I think I am the only one with this case of back to school blues because from what I see and hear around our house the girls are loving being back at Renee's with the kids, Emma doesn't stop talking about her days at school, and poor Rob doesn't know what a fun summer vacation is anyway so me going back to work probably makes him giggle! But for now I have been struggling with the new schedule.

Since I went back to work the girls fall activities also begun. Julia is now doing her first dance class and loving every second. It is a ballet and tumbling class. She is absolutely adorable and we are quite impressed with her ability to fit right in (she is the youngest in the class) and she's doing great at following the teacher instructions.

Emma started soccer, even though she had a bumpy first season last fall. She said she wanted to play again and even convinced her friend Julianna to join the team. Well after 3 appearances this season, she's decided she is not a soccer player. She wants to do dance and in her words "when Julia starts to play soccer I still don't want to play I just want to watch everyone play". So for now she is not the budding athlete I had been hoping for, though I do love seeing her smile and enjoy dance and I am not giving up hope that in time she will find some passion for sports!

And now for the big stuff ... Emma started school 2 weeks ago at Village Green Preschool. It is a small private school and they are really attentive and structured. We had our first parent teacher conference last week and Emma was given a wonderful report. Her teacher, Ms. W showed her curriculum model and benchmarks and assured us that Emma is exactly where they hope preschoolers will be, which made us feel proud. They have a number of interactive field trips planned and we are excited to be apart of that with them. Rob will be a chaperone at the first one next week at the apple orchard. Along with Emma learning so many new and wonderful preschool requirements, she's also cruising along on the "social" aspects. She is making new friends and has officially informed us that she "likes" a boy named Calvin. Seriously ... she has not stopped talking about him and tonight while reading a story with Rob she told him she hopes "cupid strikes her and Calvin with an arrow on Valentine's Day". YUP, this little girl is a true romantic. Not sure where she gets it from ... wink wink. But she did learn about the cupid and arrow from Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine's Day, so I don't think I'll be recommending that one out to any preschool Mommy's :)

Triathlete!!!

Emma cheering on Mommy!

Sara and Maddie, post race!

Sara dismounting after her AWESOME ride!

The wave of swimmers (from a distance) just before our age group wave

Me!!!! Finished the swim in 16minutes 15 seconds ... got kicked in the chin, swallowed a ton of water, had boogers flying out of my nose and was swam over and YES that is pond seaweed hanging from my boob! But it was AWESOME, such an accomplishment to get in that water and swim with all of these women!

On Sunday, July 25th we DID it! We rocked the SheRox Webster Women's Only Triathlon. There were 2100 women competing ... it was really BIG. It was a lot to take in at 5:30 a.m., setting up our transition stations, worrying about how well we were going to do. Watching each age group take off in the water was insanely nerve wracking, I almost vomited thinking about how scary it looked. But overall, we ALL did amazing! We came in well under our practice times (adrenaline is a huge enhancement!). I am proud to report that I finished the triathlon in 1 hour and 36 minutes ~ 16:15 swim; 48:30 bike; 25:30 run! The transitions from swim to bike, bike to run were really crazy, we had to run on pavement and gravel to get back to our transition area ... but we did it and did it well :) The last picture is a picture of our training team ... The Crazy Mermaids (Gretchen, Lori, Mindy, Mary, Sara and Sarah) we wrote our teams mantra on our legs ~ Say No to the Noodle, Ride like the Wind, and Run 'til You're Done! Having these ladies to train with has been amazing, we all have come so far and we are ALL doing it again in Farmington, CT on September 12th ... yes we are a bit addicted but there are far worse obsessions, right?

Thank you to everyone who has been sending encouragement and support, you are all AMAZING!

"Orange, 12"

"Orange" said Julia as she pointed to her orange bowl with her cereal in it. YES! That is orange!!! Wow, did this make Rob and I proud ... we had been wondering over the past two months if Julia could possibly be color blind (I think there is a new more up to date medical term for that but right now I can not think of the smart version, he he). Everything she has pointed to has been "blue?" and more recently "black?". Now she can SAY every color, but point to an object and nope she looks at you and says "blue???" or "black?" This started freaking us out. But low and behold our color quizzing over the past few months may have done the trick ... because today with out ANY prompting she looked at her bowl and told us it was orange! YAY Julia!!!! (And for the partially cynical ... no she does not eat from the same orange bowl everyday, we have a wide variety of colored IKEA bowls that go into rotation ;)

Another new skill of Julia's is ... she is counting! It started with 1-4, then went 1-7 and now 1-12! Yup, she is just rattling off these numbers, must have her Daddy's genes!

Other new Julia tid-bits, she has learned to fake cry and believe me it is quite cute. She's Mommy's little soap opera actress in the making. And finally, at 2 years old she is a skilled painter, for all the "rough and graceless" things she may be, when it comes to coloring and painting this little one is a neat and orderly artist. I often wonder if it is all the lecturing I do before I take out the craft kits "Girls, if I see any paint on the table, floor, or stools then painting is OVER. Julia, if I see you put paint in your mouth, painting is all done." They look at me with the serious eyes and I know they get it -- Mom means business! So, as of right now they are painting with perfect strokes and I have less to wipe up at the end of the day.

Other family tid-bits .... we made it through our 10th tax season! Boy ... a stinking decade!!! And Rob is awaiting a good promotion come July so guess what, it looks as if we will be anticipating another decade of tax seasons. Though, to Rob's credit, he did a great job balancing the pressures and stress of work with the demands of parenthood. Every year we have to try to find different ways to stay connected as a family -- date nights turn into date hour, family dinners on Thursday nights, breakfasts made by Daddy on Saturdays and Sundays , and biking together, are some of the ways we stay connected during the busy season. So, now that it's mid-May I can say with delight, We did it ... Good Bye 10th tax season, Hello Spring and almost the end of the school year!

Another few big things ... in about a week and a half I will take my first flight with out Rob since 2003. I know that must read "OK CRAZY GIRL" to some of you, but over the past decade I acquired a very serious Fear of Flying. I have undergone numerous treatments (therapy, CBT, meditation, journaling, anti-anxiety meds, immersion therapy) and to some degree most of that worked -- while Rob was by my side. But even with him I have also had 3 panic attacks on a plane and believe me when I write ... it is the worst place to have a panic attack!!! You can't leave the situation, it is horrifying to have 100+ people all around you watching as you start hyperventilating, crying, losing control. Absolutely horrifying. Especially for someone who deems herself a pretty good therapist who stinking helps clients face their own fears and anxieties ... so yeah, flying is my Nemesis. But I am doing some work right now to prepare, and bottom line is ... I really miss my best friend, so there you go ... friendship trumps fear! And I have two of the best friends you could ask for (one of which is willing to fly with "little miss fear of flying", I am sure she will have her own tale to share about this experience! Any bets for whether Danielle will ever travel with me again????).

And ... in 74 days I will do my first Triathlon!!!! The training has been going really well. We are actually contemplating signing up for a second triathlon in September!! Why not, we will already be into the grove from our July race!