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.