Our New IDs

The little guy started school a few weeks ago, and with a severe speech delay, I was freaking out. What if he got lost? Wrong bus? Wrong class? He can't talk: he can't say his name, my name, or phone number.

I started looking for some ID bracelet or tag I could put on him with our numbers in case something ever happened. I found some kids ID dog tags from My Precious Kids for $10, and ordered them for all three of my kids. The little guy's tag is on his school coat right now, and when we went to Pump It Up I hooked it on his belt loop. :)

While searching for kids' IDs, I came across many options for adults. One that kept popping up was the Road ID bracelets. What I liked the most was all the options. I can get multiple bracelets in fun colors, and just switch the ID plate to whichever bracelet I wanted to wear that day. :) At the moment I only have bright yellow, which matches my running shoes and bike accessories.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes!

Things are changing in the Mom2Triathlon house... Mom may be home more than usual once summer hits. Still a work on progress, but something exciting is coming... ;-)

Discipline has changed too. I like it; the kids do not. Coupons!!

In the past our evenings would sound like this..
Mom: Kid, it's time to do your homework.
Kid: Its soooooo haaaaaard. I caaaaan't dooooo it!!!! (that line can last at least 30 minutes)
Me: Do your homework or I'm taking away [tv, video games, iPhones, etc]!
Kid: I don't care!!! Whatever!
Mom: Fine, no games! And if you don't finish your homework you can go to your room!!!

Now....
Mom: It's time to do your homework. You have 1 hour. If you get it all done, 2 coupons for you! If its not done, no coupons. :(
Kid: Coupons?
Mom: yup, kid, new system. You need coupons to watch tv, play video games, or use a iPhone. No coupon, no games. Toys, books, and journals are free though! :)
Kid: I hate this!!
Mom: But it's working... [insert evil laugh]

FYI, coupons are also earned for school mornings, bedtimes, weekend chores, and Mom surprises. Mom Coupons get trips to McDonalds or Dunkin Donuts too. :D

I have been ready about FlyLady lately too. It's about creating habits to create a calm, less cluttered home. I'm still trying to figure how to mesh Flying with Tri'ing, so it's a work in progress. A positive work.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a bike and swim day, but I have to play it by ear. My Dad is in the hospital and its important I see him.

Have a great weekend!!!

Ugh... Illness and Balance?

I've half written a bunch of posts over the last week or so, but none have felt ready to publish.

Munchkins had strep throat, fevers, and all the fun that having sick kids entails. Pretty much, we spent a week on the couch with Disney Junior playing 23/7. I ordered Dominos Pizza just to see another human when I reached a point of desperation. [The pizza was poor, but the custom-made mac & cheese pasta was super yummy!]

I had a job thing (more on that later) too. Job's been changing lately, and change is very stressful for me.

Today this picture popped up on my FB page and it really got me thinking.

Let go of the Shoulds, and just Be?

Like "I should clean the kitchen floor", "I should be doing laundry", "I should cook balanced family dinners", and "I shouldn't do anything that takes time away from my kids."

Just BE... who? I AM... a mom who takes her kids with her to the gym so after her workout they can go rock-climbing or swimming. I AM a mom who ignores the kitchen floor so I can play Super Mario Brothers with the kids. I AM the mom that provides clean clothes, but they may still be in laundry baskets at the moment. ;-) Hey, it's clean! As for cooking, my husband is the better balanced cook! Thank goodness he does most of the grocery shopping so there are always healthy options for snacks! I AM the mom who helps with homework while attempting to cook something. I AM the mom that misses out on 2 to 3 afternoons, dinners, and bedtimes with her family each week, so she can go to work at the hospital, taking care of YOUR family and friends. Which I do, with LOVE and COMPASSION, as if they were my own. Until midnight... and then I AM mom again, tucking in sheets and finding lost rabbits.

I Should get up in 7 hours and make a lovely well balanced breakfast that my kids would probably refuse to eat.

Or... I WILL make the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with frosting that they LOVE, devour, inhale... Maybe they'll even leave one left for me. :-)

And once I've sent them off to school [on a sugar high], I'll Consider the kitchen floor. Consider the dishes. Consider the remaining laundry.

And I'll GO for a run! And GO on the bike! And GO for a swim!

I know who I AM, and I'll be even BETTER when I get back.

Fundraiser Race for Children's Hospital

I'm "Racing to Wrigley" on May 11! Fundraising supports the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital (formerly Children's Memorial), where my littlest munchkin was a hematology patient his first year of life. I'm so thankful for the doctors and nurses who supported us that year. If you'd like to make a donation the link is

http://www.race-cubs.com/racetowrigley2013/katsma. Thank you!

I am so thankful for the doctors and nurses that cared for KD when he was struggling with a rare (albeit) survivable diagnosis. KD was a patient for most of his first year of life. I am forever blessed with his health.

The Super Gym and 1000 Meters

I am trying out the Super Gym this week with a free 7-day pass. I like it so far. The littlest guy likes it A LOT. I had to finally pick him up and carry him out of the Kids Center. It has a two level jungle gym and computers with video games! If I was 3 I wouldn't want to leave either!

It's a little overwhelming. My former longterm gym had a 15 treadmills, a handful of elliptical machines, and 6 stationary bikes. This gym has like 100. Rows and rows and rows. Half have personal TVs on them! I'm pretty sure the cardio AREA of Super Gym is bigger than my entire old gym.

The place I'm training at right now has 3 treadmills. :)

The pools are the best part! I swam 1000 meters today. A thousand! That's 0.63 miles. That's almost triple what I had to do six months ago. That's more than the regular Sprint triathlon. And I have 6 months to go to train!

Best Valentine's Day ever. :-)

Facebook vacation

I'm on a voluntary furlough from Facebook. I spend too much time there with my 250 "friends." I love being able to share our lives with friends and family, and seeing how they are.

But sometimes it seems like I'm ALWAYS checking Facebook. Anyone updated in the last 5 minutes?!?!

Since we're having 20 people for a party on Saturday, and I'm not the most dedicated of housekeepers, I figured if I took all my FB time and pit it towards cleaning and tidying, my house will sparkle on Saturday. :-) In reality I've just read more, played with the kids more, and worked more.

I still have "status update" thoughts pop into my head, but I'm glad I took this week off. Maybe once I re-activate my account I'll delete my iPhone app, which means I'll have to find our laptop when I want to see how all my Friends and doing.

FYI. I actually have a Mom2Triathlon FB page!! I haven't done anything to it yet, so wait and see.

Love... And marriage... And kids... And Triathlon?!

Anyone around my age can sing the theme song to "Married With Children." The show was 'just crazy' to my preteen brain, but the song lives forever. "Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage..."

Or you could go with the childhood rhythm "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage."

But wait, what happens when triathlon comes after that? It's not in the song or the rhyme. It's a new theme song with it's own drummer. The drummer? That would be me.

Love, check. (and I thank my lucky stars every day)

Marriage, check. However, married life while trying to work, run monthly 5ks, and train for a triathlon... It's work. I'm fortunate to be married to a fitness buff. Neither of us are saints. I know not to interrupt his weight-lifting sessions. He knows if I say, "I'm going for a run while it's a balmy 40°" to just watch the kids. I have my training time, mostly while the kids are at school and he's at work, and he has his training time after work [when I'm not working]. We make it work.

We budget for it too, which is an issue a lot of married triathletes deal with. I see a trainer, he sees a trainer. I buy a wetsuit, he buys supplements. I will need a new gym in March... he... never mind. I will budget for it.

Then come kids.

You can't "budget" kids. They need your time, energy, and love. I try to include them in my workouts and racing. One runs with me (he's got his own kids Tri in august). Another will play the iTouch while I ride the trainer. I look for races that also have Kid Runs so they can all participate. The youngest likes to be a "33 lb weight" when I'm at home. Starting in March the little one will come to the new gym with it's awesome Kids Room. In fact, this super-gym has a whole floor, basketball court, and pool/waterslide area just for kids! My older ones can't wait until I work out over the summer and they can play at the waterpark.

Last year I dragged my family to nearly all my races. I thought they'd enjoy seeing Mom compete, but I learned that the kids' perspective was more like, "I'm bored... Where's Mom? I'm bored... I see Mom [for 10 seconds]!! I'm bored... Are we done yet? Can I get another popsicle? Where's Mom?! I'm bored..." Times three, in our case.

You get the idea.

This year I've tried to choose races that are nearby so I can go alone and be home in just a few hours. Or I've picked races that my kids can participate in too, like the Zoo Fun Run. The only "family required" race is the triathlon because it's my BIG race, my son and sister are also running, and we'll be staying at a hotel downtown to be close to all the activity. Although I'm very tempted to leave the 3 year old with a grandparent so we can actually get sleep at the hotel... :-)

I hope through our training, racing, and dedication, my kids grow up to my version of the song:
"Love and marriage, love and marriage,
Go together like a race and mileage.
Dad was told by mother, you can't have one without the other..."

So Thankful!

I have so much to be thankful for this year. In no particular order:

1. My husband.
2. My kids. Three sons who keep me on my toes, run with me, and for whom I want to be the best role model I can.
3. God.
4. The freedom to worship as I choose.
5. The freedom to love whom I choose. (And I hope this freedom someday extends to everyone.)
6. My sister. Yeah, YOU, who got me into this. ;-)
7. My brothers. Drinking buddies!
8. My mother, who has persevered through more than her share.
9. My father, whom I miss every day.
10. My other sister, that I've only recently had the pleasure to get to know.
11. My home. Small as it is, it's full of love. And paid off.
12. My car. It gets me from point A to point B safely.
13. My health. I can run, swim, bike, and race.
14. My family's health. Especially my youngest after a sick first year.
15. My brother-in-laws. One beat cancer, one cares for troubled youth.
16. My sister-in-law.
17. DB. Oldest friend, from when we were like 3. Triathlete!
18. Old friends.
19. New friends.
20. Facebook. The way we've reconnected with friends after years.
21. Max, my trainer. My body is in better shape now than in high school.
22. Coworkers/old classmates... Keeping me sane most nights.
23. My job.
24. The wine I drink after my job.
25. My adorable nieces.
26. Hannah, our amazing babysitter for the past 4 years!
27. Chocolate.
28. Wine. Beer. Vodka. Xanax. ;-)
29. Coffee.
30. And last, but not least, all the armed forces that keep us safe and protect our country.

My Turkey Trot 5k this morning was not one of my best (36:38), but I learned a very important lesson: forgetting to hydrate = bad cramping. Now it's time to join my family in celebrating our blessings.