discombobulated

the meaning of the word: realizing at 1:50 in the afternoon the first day of school that i have met the girls' teachers, gone to the grocery store, and to target, all with my shirt on inside-out. i guess the kids starting school shook me up more than i realized.

(gwyneth just informed me that my summer blog background was not appropriate for the start of the school year. she stood over me until i changed it. i don't know how long i'll be able to stand it, but i will try to wait awhile before changing back to a summer theme)

school

finally, some pictures of my children not in their swimsuits.

i really can't believe summer's over! gwyneth and i decided we'd like a school system that had school for 2 months, then a 2 week break, etc--but still had a 2 month break for summer. that would be the right balance of fun and play versus clean house for me.

pace and i don't know what to do with ourselves. it's really weird to just have one child home. it's the first time that's ever happened since i've had kids. it must be time to have another one. ha ha!

i have to admit that some things are good about having the kids back in school. i just finished cleaning the playroom, a room i avoided the entire summer. occasionally, i'd send the kids in there to do a "pickup", but i never went in there to clean it. "what's the point?" was definitely my attitude. so, it was nice to get in there and really clean it.

a clean playroom is nice, but i have to say i'd still rather be at the beach!!!

one last summer fling

last week we went up to orlando for the triathlon. we went up a couple of days early and stayed in a hotel with a water park. lots of fun was had by all. our friends went up with us, which made it even more fun. it was just the right atmosphere at the water park--not too big, not too small. we could let the kids roam free without worrying, which equals a real vacation for me!

i am already going through summer withdrawals, which is why i haven't posted about the first day of school yet--it will make it seem more like summer's officially over once i blog about it!

anyway, enjoy the pictures and feel lucky that i didn't put most of the ones loren took of me in the collage. husbands with cameras are dangerous.

successful completion of the triathlon

so, i did the triathlon on saturday! woohoo! it was so much fun. it was probably one of the best/most fun/greatest/happy-feel-good things i've every done. i finished in 1 hour and 23 minutes, which put me in 3rd place for my age group in the "first tri" division, and 4th for women overall in that division. i got this little award thing, which was kind of nice. loren promply asked me if i was going to take a picture of it and then throw the award away, like i make the kids do with theirs. i told him that the rules are different for me, 'cause i'm the mom. the kids can keep their awards when they're moms.

anyway, none of the pictures above are super flattering, and they mostly show me in the transition area (going from the swim to the bike, and the bike to the run), but it's a little glimpse of what it was like. loren missed my big smiles on the swim and bike courses and got my grimaces on the run (running is not my forte--the first mile of the run was an absolute killer until i settled into my groove)......it was way more fun than it looks like i'm having--you'll just have to trust me.

i started working out today for my next one. anyone want to join me?

another bike ride--not as much singing this time

this is why. do you see the size of that seat? holy skinny-ness! notice how the tip of the seat is roughly the same size as the bar of the bike. it's roughly the same hardness, too. trust me.

i don't think this picture does the narrowness of the wheels justice.
this one's a little better, but to fully appreciate it, i think you have to actually be on the bike.
another shot of the demon seat.
and here's the whole thing.
this is the bike i used for my ride this morning. let's just say that my normal bike is not the same sort of creature that this bike is. i'm not even sure they should both be called bikes. it took me 20 minutes to get up the nerve to let go of the handle bars and change gears. it was a wobbly moment. i hope no one was watching. (i can proudly report that i changed gears again later on with less wobble). i hope everybody at the triathlon knows to stay far away from me. i need a sign that says "i've only ridden a crazy bike like this one other time, so watch out!" i would just get a horn to beep so everybody would know to run, but i don't think i can let go of the handle bars long enough to beep it.

i do have to say that it was very, very fun to whiz along at top speed. i got home 10 minutes before loren, and he did 4 miles less than i did. and it was fun to feel a little bit like a real (?) biker. i'm sure a true pro could have spotted me as an impostor right away, but loren said i looked good, so i'll take his word for it and avoid consulting anyone else.