What are your kids reading?

As an avid word eater myself, I find I have book "piles" everywhere-
In the living room:
YA chapter books for my classroom
Best Practices Texts for my classroom
Parenting books
Texts for my Reading Specialist degree
Guilty Pleasure texts- like Chelsea Handler, that hot mess Tori Spelling and a new fave David Sedaris
In the kitchen:
Cookbooks, magazines and favorite recipes
Upstairs in my craft room:
idea magazines, old teaching materials, art project ideas for James
Next to my yoga mat:
Triathlon and marathon training books
Next to the couch:
current magazines from Triathlete, Runners World,, Mailbox Preschool, Taste of Home and Us (gotta see what Britters has been up to!)
In James' room:
ABC/123 books, board books, pop-ups, well worn books, books that make us giggle, poetry books, Golden books and creepy books that make us wriggle...

So I guess if it's one thing I want to pass on to him, it's this love/passion I have for language. We went to Borders in the mall yesterday and if you have ever been to a Borders in the mall, you know how jam packed the space is and how hard it is to move with 1 other person in the children's section... so we played w/ books and walked away w/ 2 new favorites:



He loves interactive books right now. Pop ups, lift a flap, googly eyes, etc. The bus w/ wheels was one we left behind- shhh. So here's my big Q of the day- What are your kid's favorites? James has 4 that we reread constantly. He will "read" them with me when we are out on a walk or driving to school because he knows them by heart.
I could have made a list of 20, but made myself quit.

I'm alive I swear...

Coming up for a quick breathe of air...still training for Chicago Marathon...need to get in longer long runs. Must get 2 more hours into each day...

Ok- I'm a little stressed, things are calming down though- love my new job. It is a little demanding though. I'll survive.

Insert end of static Fuzz here...

It's been so long...
Sorry work called last Monday...I tried to pretend not to be home, but!!!!

Triathlon Update:
That night I realized something- I forgot my shoes, running skirt and socks @ the venue. Luckily I tracked them down and have to go pick them up. When? I don't know...

Also I celebrated the big 3-1. After this one, I've realized something. I put way too much thought into my husband's birthday. This year he too will be getting a card that says, "Happy Birthday, go buy yourself something." How easy is that?!? So I sang silently to myself, then made James sing to me, too.

Drum roll please....

So here is my recap-
I'm in the red suit in the back.
Can you spot me?

500 yard swim: 15:25
My buoy mantra worked really well. I did stop @ 2 buoys to fix my goggles that were kicked off my face. If they were cheap, I would have ditched them. I spent a lot of time breath stroking- WTF? I hate that stroke. I think I did it because I had so many issues siting. I'll work on that more.

T1- Swim to Bike 3:18- Pretty slow. I had to dry off and put on socks, shoes and clothes. Many others just hopped on sans shoes and clothes...I was afraid of a wedgie. Nearly tripped over my bike running it out because I forgot to start the Garmin. Why aren't they waterproof by the way?

12 mile Bike- 44:12- pretty flat, rolling course. I averaged 18 mph according to the bike computer. Was passed by only 1 other female. She was on the same bike as me. I really need to learn to push myself more. I get into a "comfortable" pace that I could do all day and never really hit race pace. I dismounted the bike and ran it into transition for T2. No whistles- no penalties!

T2- bike to run- 1:21 Hung up the bike, took off the helmet and traded it for a hat and grabbed my water. Glad I did- it was pretty steamy.



3 mile Run: 27:36- Who put the led balloons around my ankles? Here I am passing Matt my #1 supporter. I reminded him to call mom and let her know I was outta the water. Whoops- sorry Ma! They lady behind me was 65- there were a ton-o-Senior Citizens in the race. I remember telling myself the last mile, "This is a race Granny, move it." There are some bad a$$ SC's out there. With the help of fellow runner Tom(57)- who huffed and puffed the last mile w/ me we averaged 8:39 . Most of the run was in the sun. We went up and over the bridge and turned into the finish line.

With that I walked around, picked up the bike, showered, grabbed Matt some cookies and posed for a picture with the bike. Note to self- drink Gatorade after running in the heat, I finally feel better now. I drank a lot of water...but just not enough I guess. Overall, I'm happy with my finish. I spent most of the time dreading the swim, the swim time dreading the swim and the bike and run beating myself up over how poorly I swam. My nemesis...

Final Results
6/8 in my division
53/82 females
1:31:49 finishing time. My goal was 1:40...can't I be satisfied?

Make-up Tri--CHECK

So I finished my tri today- I'll do a full recap of the event when my official time posts, I'm guessing 1 hour and 30 minutes. Here is a pic of the transition area and my my dangling bike- Triathletes are as superstitious as baseball fans- how wacky...

Time flies

Wow- it's been a while. We got back from a week long vacation at Grandma and Grandpa Farm's and we are exhausted. My friend Janene got married and Marge flew in from Colorado. We went to the Shed Acquarium with Marge and Grandpa farm. We also went to Grizzly Jack's an indoor water/ amusement park at Starved Rock and had a blast. James declared it, "The best party ever." I'll always remember Carly and Dad shooting down the mini slide like a bullet off the tarmak almost taking each other out in the process.

So my make-up tri is tomorrow in Springfield. We are leaving by 4:30.

My swim mantra will be "Get to the first bouy...get to the first bouy... get to the first buoy..." Then it will be, "Get to the next buoy, get to the next buoy get to the next buoy..." Once I'm out of the water it will be smooth sailing. Hopefully.

I'm walk'n on...eggshells OOOHHHH

And it doesn't feel good...

OK the Beaver house has been one hotbed of crankiness(If that's a word) anyway It's gotten really steamy outside this week and Matt has been a tad crabby because of working in it- so really between the hours of 4pm and 6 am, James and I are hiding in the backyard between the bushes like a bunch of safari idiots.

J-Boz update- because of my new job we had to find day care in Quincy. This was really a hard search. LeeAnne who cared for him over the first three years is like a grandma to him so no matter what we find, nothing will compare. After 35 phone calls 6 site visits, we finally found a wonderful structured environment the we feel comfortable with. Maria- or as James calls her, "Marnarnia," watched him for a half a day yesterday so he could get his feet wet and all went well. SIGH- my "Lady of Leisuredom" is over in two weeks when training sessions begin.

I ran 7 this morning and am dropping back to 10 tomorrow, so far so good. Knock on my periformus- ok bad joke. I am off to the Y to swim (which still needs work) then home to load of 3 coolers and 12 bags. We are headed camping with Matt's parents this evening. Hope it's relaxing.

Weight update- So I dropped the 10 extra pounds I was carrying by cutting out processed foods and traking my Points. So it's mostly water weight since it's been so damn hot, but it's 10 pounds and 2% body fat according to the scale...We'll see what the effects of 5 s'mores will do...

Long Runs

What to think about on a long run? A grocery list, things I haven't cleaned in 2-3 years, chafing, not chafing, does this fuel belt make my ass look big, weird objects I've seen on the side of the road. arguements my husband and I have/have not had, the list goes on and on.

Randomly weird objects list: baby bottles, safety pins, shoes (singular and plural), any type of clothing you can think of, scissors, razors, and stickers. That was just this morning and no I wasn't running in the ghetto.

Defunkdified

So, if you haven't noticed, I've been in a slump...especially since my last "failure to launch." I have a new mental attitude and I have found a real swim coach. My Master's Class at the Y was canceled in May(What do you mean closing the pool for 2 people is not a "good business decision"- plus my coach moved), so I had been attempting a few solo swims. As most Phelan's will tell you- we need schedule, order and structure, kind of in an OCD type of way. And I need people waiting for me or...I won't show up! SO after 2 months, I have found a swim club in our town. It starts Monday. Sure their master's class is from 3:30-4:30 3 days a week, so most "Normal" full time employees couldn't go, but when you are a "lady of leisure" like myself 3 months a year, it shouldn't be too much hassle. All I have to do is figure a new nap schedule, find a babysitter and wallah- there I am.

At the Y Laura was the only other swimmer and she refused to put her face in the water to swim. I used to laugh at her until I tried doing it for 2 laps to work on siting, then she was the one laughing at me- That's tough stuff. Sure, I may be in the slow lane, while the others lap me, but I'm there, and improving- hopefully.

Here's another tid bit. I have/want to lose the 10 pounds I've strapped on since the last marathon. The slightest amount of sugar sends me into a feeding frenzy and the overeating then sends me for the bushes during my runs, (sorry neighbors!) so I've started weight watchers online. I'm not sure this was a good expenditure since I get 20 points a day, 35 flex points a week and by the time I log my activity daily I end up with 12 extra points a day. OK- maybe I just need to practice a little self control. So here's the stats...141 lbs and 27.7% Body Fat- YIKES! That's a lot of jiggle.

I'm off to the Y to swim before James wakes up and I decide to stay and play with trains. He has quite the setup.

Back in the saddle again!

So I've commited to another open water tri- It's in Springfield at the end of July. Here's the link! I WILL be doing this one.

James and I are visiting ma familia. We plan on seeing fireworks tonight. The past 3 days James has been introduced to the phenomena of lightning bugs! He loves them! Honestly, he's never really been up this late before, so I'm hoping he can make it one more late night.

A swift kick in the arse

So...I mentally choked this weekend. I signed up for this race, drove there, picked up my race packet, went to the lake to practice the swim and mentally shat my pants. I could give you 32 reasons why I didn't go race morning, but bottom line, I woosed out and ran away with my wetsuit between my legs, WTF! I am hating myself now, oh well, time to sign up for another one and suck it up and deal.

I came home last night and got on my road bike and went for a drive to clear my head. 4 blocks into it some lady opened her car door and I almost endo'd. Maybe I shouldn't have swerved, maybe a good pavement beat down is what I needed.

I started my marathon training this morning. Ran 4- felt good. Love my new Garmin...named her Green Jeans...she's a little tempermental. Maybe I should read the directions. So far I'm thinking it's sweet.

Water, Water everywhere

This is our downtown area. So far the Illinois levees continue to hold. Most of the major damage seems to be on the Missouri side.

A New Adventure

So, I am in the midst of a job change. It's a new school, but I am looking forward to the new challenge and resources. I'm spending this summer creating a blog and website as well as looking at incorporating podcasts and setting up a local junior tri competition. Saying goodbye to my old digs was rough, but I came to the conclusion I have way too much junk for my trunk!

Water, Water Everywhere

Due to the rising waters in town James and I spent the day sandbagging. It's a dirty job but someone had to do it. The Hy-Vee Tri I am to do next weekend already canceled the swim portion. Instead of whining about getting our $ back, I say we ban together and help the town clean up that day!

Happy F-Day!

I picked J-Boz up from Grandpa Farm's yesterday. He spent a few days there so I could get some extended swims in. Thanks Grandpa. While he was there he learned to drive...How can I compete?

A day in the life of J-Boz: ACT II

So naptime is over and we are off as a party of 3. We head out to another Quincy park for rock climbing, golf putting and a meltdown.

After the above meltdown, we load up the cargo and head back home for a peacful dinner, watermelon and baseball.

Here's some batting footage. It's not very good, but you get the point.


All in all a wicked day! We are exhausted and ready to do it all again tommorrow.

A day in the life of J-Boz

7:20 He wakes up(2 hours later than normal)eats breakfast and is chauffeured to the Y by dad to meet me in the pool for his swim lesson. I am trying to get him to go under so I have goggles and rings. Nope, not happen'n. I spend 20 minutes fetching the rings like a dog. Each time I bring them back he says, "Good job mom." Maybe next time he'll scratch my ears.

He's driven back home where he spends the next 20 minutes hitting the ball in the backyard like he's Babe Ruth or something. No T or anything...pitch, hit...pitch, hit. He will miss occasionally when the pitcher gets all wacky, but I'm not kidding when I say this kid has good hand eye coordination. Sorry- no photos- will add some soon. Dad takes off to golf with his buddies and we pack up!

10:00am In the interest of global cooling we bike to the library, passing the helicopter at the hospital's launch pad and the firehouse on our way to the square for Farmer's Market. We honk our horns at the helicopter, fire truck and innocent bystanders.

He shakes his "bottoms" to the Folk Tale music and digs for pennies in the fountain. Just kidding, there were no pennies.

We ride to the library where they are having the kickoff to their summer reading program. No don't laugh but THE JESSIE WHITE TUMBLERS were there...I was screaming like a kid in a candy store. A throwback to the 80's, the Springfield fair and our hotel swimming pool! He tried to butt in line for popcorn, got his face painted (Can you guess what it is?), made a sun visor, laughed, bounced a little and cried a little.










Also, who needs Disney when we have the Gem Bird and Library Lion to hug?




After a quick bathroom break it was back on our trusty stead to the playground for slides, swings, and such. It wasn't until the past few weeks that he actually would ride a swing. We position ourselves on the seat. He yells, "Push me high, mom!" Woosh- he's off, about waist high, he's holding his breath the whole time. I yell at him to breathe and he screams, "That's too high!" He slows down and screams, "Push me higher mom." Once again has to be reminded to breathe and he yells, "That's too high." Wash rinse and repeat 52 more times. Now, if I can just incorporate a swing into the pool at the Y and he'd have no problem holding his breath!





So we motor on home where we clean up read 2 stories, today it was I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! and There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly where he gets to jam the animals down the stuffed old ladies neck...How's that for a toy?

When he wakes up we're off to our Park District's paddle boat races. How's that for cheap(free) family fun? Stay tuned!

Answer to the face painting question: he requested a eltrut (answer is backwards)

Feeling Bold?

So my Sister Mags and her "partner" Eric did the Bolder Boulder last weekend. They both did great and finished strong. I went to my mailbox and look what my sister's boyfriend sent me. Isn't it great? Now I can pretend that I ran in it, too.

Mount up!

There she is...isn't she beautiful? I finally got a Trek 1000 road bike today from my LBS. It's a WSD and I can't wait to ride it.

James came with me and got his paws on a horn, so we will be adding that to the running stroller. He already enjoys waving and yelling at all the cars we pass, so this will add to keeping him occupied.

Now, what should a name her? The Blue Bomber? Twyla? Bluebell?

Vacation all I ever wanted...

Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone

A week without you
Thought I'd forget
Two weeks without you and I
Still haven't gotten over you yet!

I'm hoping 3 months is enough to help me find why I became a teacher. This year was such a mental drainer. I'm exhausted.

So I picked up James from his visit at Grandma and Grandpa Farm's. He had a blast despite the road rash from a "spill" he took on the gravel. It's a war wound and we all know how much he loves those.

Less than 24 hours into vacation I have already learned something new. How to jump start a car. Don't ask why the lights were left on in the front seat of the car, there's only one 3 foot scab-faced monster that can answer that question and he aint talking. Oh well, you learn something new all the time.

Now, what will we learn tomorrow?

Conquering my first tri

Oh My God...Lesson learned!

I am now in the process of a 2 step plan.
Step 1 Buy a wetsuit
Step 2 Buy a road bike

Race report- so I jumped in the lake wearing the red mucosa- no I did not look like Pamela Anderson running along Baywatch- quite the opposite actually. It was a little chilly- ok very chilly. A little warmer than the Polar Plunge in March. So the horn blew and I stayed toward the back of the pack- Heart racing, gasping for breath, doggie paddling all the way. I started thinking, "WTF? front crawl damnit. It's only a 300 meter swim." I got kicked in the face and my goggles popped off. Someone grabbed my foot, too. So I finally rounded the first buoy and flipped to my back to slow my breathing down and give my arms a rest- they were like frozen blocks. All the sudden I heard people yelling. I looked up and there was the boat. "You're going the wrong way." This would not officially be a race without me going the wrong direction. So I flip back over and try the front crawl again- Each time I put my face in the water I started hyperventalating again. I must have drank a belly full. It was the craziest thing I have ever done. Thank god that part was over.

T-1 Swim to Bike- As I run up the beach and pass my husband he's looking at me wide-eyed. My legs and arms match my suit and I have snot running down my face. I run up the hill and into the bike area- find my trusty steed and switch my gear- throw clothes on, wash my feet off before sliding on my socks and shoes. I buckle my helmet and pull the Purple People Eater out of its corral and run toward the exit- I believe there are 3 others behind me. As I pass Matt I say, "When you call mom, let's not mention that part."

I'm off. The bike was pretty pleasant actually which looking back tells me I wasn't pushing hard enough. 13.1 miles- pretty windy on the way out but faster on the way back. I averaged 16 on the biked- passing 3 others.

T-2 Bike to run- Not much gear to switch- pulled off my jacket, ditched the helmet and grabbed my water bottle- shooting snot rockets the size of my hand. Matt met me about a third of the way into the run. We passed a few runners. I was pretty slow the first mile lugging my gams all the way. I did get annoyed with Matt a few times, he kept making me run in the crown of the road- unknowingly, but this was a race damnit and I wasn't there to sociallize. On the run a 70-yo IronMan passed me on his way back. What a bad ass. So as I'm running I'm getting pretty pissed about the swim. Oh well, lesson learned. Crossed the finish line and grabbed my water. 1:40 minutes. All the sudden I start this hyperventilating thing...Um, OK- This is smaller than the brick workout I did last week. Whatever.

Finally, I calmed down and went to pack my gear. I am looking around and there are some hard core triathletes- some wicked road bikes and racing gear all around. I don't think I'll buy into the Bride of Frankenstein helmet though. There were 2 other guys on Mountain bikes, so I wasn't the only one.

When I went to work the next day UPS dropped off my wetsuit I ordered 2 weeks ago. Someone up there had a pretty good laugh. Step 1 done!

The Grand Opening Sale

Hello out there! Welcome to my insane adventure. The sale rack is in the back and everything else is half off..their rocker.

So I have struggled with this decision for some time now. Commit to the IronMan or pass it up. My plate is already pretty full right now. I'm a wife to Matt who has already put his foot down to this insanity and mom to James- or Super J-Boz his superhero name. Beyond that I also teach a group of fourth grade yahoos, why would I need to put more stress on myself?

Pros: It's important to have goals. It would be an interesting conversation starter. I already am very active. My brother would do it, too and all family and friends could show up to support me.

Cons: It's an IronMan for God's sake. It would be even more training time than the Chicago Marathon I do each year. I could get injured. It's taking training to the extreme. It would be expensive to hire a coach which I would need. It's an IronMan for Christ's sake.

Feel free to add to my Pro's and Con's list...

Shazamm!

This is one dope blog design, isn't it? Didn't Cynthia do a wicked job? Man, I want her boobs...Iron Mom, not Cynthia! Anyway flock to her for a blog update, she is so great to work with.