The Gator

First, everyone is on the mend...but it was one LONG week and stomach bug!

All the things you swear you would not do as a parent...and then you have kids....

I am not a huge fan of these battery powered cars...but I can tell you who is...Jackson.

He is obsessed with all things moving...

He turns two next week... and quite honestly as the third.. he gets really nothing new.  He is still riding the purple and pink bike that the girls first rode.  So we decided we would break down and get him a truck..

Here is where he first saw it on Sunday.

Since then, we have driven it to the bus stop, picked up the morning paper, and moved mulch around. He loves his truck!

Coming up for air....

Germ free air that is....we have been hit HARD with the stomach bug.  In the short 6 years of parenting this is by far the worst I have ever seen it. 

Jackson started on Friday night...Ryan was awesome.  I never even woke up...I was out of the house early for a long workout and when I got home mid morning, I picked up Jackson and he promptly puked on me....it was forshadowing for the days to come. 

We thought we might be clear....as no one else seem to get it over the weekend...but poor little Jack is still puking....and Monday morning rolled around and Ryan left for the week.

Within two hours of his departure both girls started....and we have been homebound ever since.  Thankfully by some miracle I have been spared and have not gotten sick, which is pretty amazing since by this morning there were two kids in our bed with me.

Hopefully it will let up soon.  Until then we will feast on crackers and gingerale.

Planting our garden

Last year was the first year we planted a garden with the kids.  It was a HUGE success.  We grew our own pumpkins, peas, tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini.  The only issue was that there were too many plants for our little space.  So this year we added another box so the pumpkins can sprawl on their own.

Aly made all these little signs to mark what the plant was.

And at the end of the day....this is where we found Jackson 

A whole bunch of randomness.....

We have had awesome warm and unseasonably nice weather this spring...I hope hope that it stays this way for the next couple of weeks..

We have been busy planning our summer trips which is always fun.  We will likely make our annual pilgrimage to Iowa in late June after Aly gets out of school and before the craziness of the summer really sets in.  Ryan may be able to join us for the latter part but he is unsure.

We are thinking about taking our kids to Hawaii in August.  The ONLY thing that is holding me back is the 11 hour flight with Jackson...the rest I think would be fine.

We have FINALLY found an area in NJ we could live if we have to move.  For the time being we are going to stay put in PA and see how Ryan like the commute and if I can survive and manage without him on a weekly basis.

Our garden is going to get planted this week.  We got all of the plants and seeds and hopefully we will get it in this weekend...despite the projected rain.

I get to race a super little sprint next weekend....it will be fun since I have done no racing since last September.

Jackson turns 2 in three weeks....let the terrible twos begin...about 3 months ago I think.

West River Drive TT and my first crash

This morning I went into center city to ride the West River Drive TT....I have never done a bike time trial before and I thought it would be good to see how they work.  We left Lansdale about 5:30 so we could get into the city and get warmed up before the event.  I thought I would be fine in bike shorts and a shirt....but it was COLD.

I had a long sleeve with my that I wore thankfully, but I was completely underdressed.  It was about 50 out but the sun was not out and it was chilly.  We warmed up...riding the course out and back.  It is flat and closed to traffic.  We were told that the runners and geese would not move for us.

There were about 40 people and they sent us off every 30 secs.  Apparently this series has been going on for over 10 years.  My HR monitor was  reading so I was playing with that while warming up...it would pick up then go out, then read 60 then 210....so annoying.

Finally it was go time...and thanks to the advice of Julia and Jen, I just rode hard.  Since it was my first one, I had no bench mark.  There were slight elevations but nothing crazy.....I wanted to catch the girl in front of me...which I did...and then I just rode...and then I thought I might puke....but alas the finish came and we were done.   I have a goal to beat this summer and it is a great little series.

After that, we rode the Philly Olympic course loop a couple of times.  I do not have great bike handling skills and there were tons of little narrow pathways we had to get on and road closures that we had to navigate.  The boys were bunny hopping the crap in the rode and I was just trying not to crash.

This is boathouse row, which we rode a couple of times...very pretty!

Oh and crash I did, we headed back to West River Drive to get in some more miles and head out the the hills of Manayunk.  There was a Hunger Walk in progress, so we were riding slowly through the masses to get through and pass their turnaround.

This guy was not pleased that the bikers were out on the pedestrian/ bike road and he was getting pissed at the riders apparently.  So when I went to pass him...he clotheslined me...and down I went.  Not fast, but hard.  Totally shaken and not wanting to start a fight in downtown Philly, I got on my bike and rode away.

Assessed the damage after the turnaround and I have some pretty big gashes in my knees and elbows...and my right thigh has a monster bruise..Likely that I will live though.  So first crashed done and survived!

Parent. Work. Train

Pretty much sums up the next few months.  Ryan is beginning a new job in two weeks that will have him commuting a much longer distance than center city.  While he is making the transition, he is going to live in NJ during the week and come home on the weekends.

HELLO single parenting....which actually for the most part, I do not mind.  The grocery bill will be lower, the ice cream will disappear from the house, and routine...there is a routine when daddy is away...yes!

I will miss the evening breaks that I am used to and the early am hours that I used to knock out at least one workout before he caught the train and the down time with the other half at night.

We thought initially we would move...the commute is a little over 1.5 hours each way.  As we looked into moving though, there were a lot of things that did not make sense.  We are picky in our house choices and we don't know if we are up for building again.  We can move 45 towards NJ and his commute will still be over an hour due to the train schedule.  So for now we are going to stay put....and see how it works out.

But being a mommy has its perks...Jackson is over the moon about what is going on in front of our house this week.  He sat enamored by all of the trucks!

Work is going well...my two little part time gigs give me enough down time to make coming home fun and keep me on my toes.  I work for two awesome women at Fleet Feet, who are moms, athletes, and understanding of having little children!  I have been helping Heather with the No Boundaries 5k program and it has been so much fun!  I am hopeful that I can manage the schedule once Ryan is out of town.

Any training...well, I came home pretty tired from Tucson.  It seems to be getting better but the red eye home and Ryan being gone this week has left me TIRED.  I am going to do a bike TT this weekend which I have never done.  Hopefully my legs will cooperate and we can ride in this awesome weather.

Last night Aly and Brianna were right in the mix as they set up a bike race course of their own!  That made bedtime easy peasy as we rode until it was dark.

Easter and American Girl

 This past weekend we traveled to NH to celebrate Easter, with my family.  We held the annual egg hunt and the kids had a great time.  Jackson rode the tractor all around...he was more interested in that than anything else.

We headed home to PA on Sunday and early Monday morning we headed to NYC to American Girl.  This was what Aly chose as a birthday present.  We took a couple of her friends and we had lunch in the little cafe there.  They were so cute!

So Brianna really did not care for American Girl...she went along for the ride...but it is certainly not her thing.  Everyone had a doll, so she decided she wanted one...we got one that looked like her - see above picture.

After lunch, we headed downstairs so they could get an outfit...and Brianna found the little stuffed puppies that go with the dolls...that was REALLY what she wanted.  So we returned the doll in favor of a new puppy - chocolate chip....at a fraction of the cost...I'll take it!

TUCSON!

 I spent this past weekend in Tucson.  It was so much fun!  A weekend away training, no kids, no dinners to prepare, and lots of fun new friends!  I was glad to finally meet Jen and some of her other athletes.  We trained hard and had a great time.  I was able to connect with Caroline, who is hard core and grew up a few towns from me in NH, Julie, who was my roommate and super athlete mom, and Julia who was just so much fun to be around!

Friday morning we climbed Mt. Lemmon.  The views were breathtaking.  I thought the first few miles were the hardest.  It was a 25 mile climb but the descent was worth it.  I LOVE descending fast.  We went for a short run when we got back and it was HOT!  Lindsey and I ran together and managed to get it in before hitting the pool at the house.

Saturday was the hardest day....I have only been training for triathlon for a little over a year and never have I ridden my bike 80 miles...and it was a hot 80 miles.  Jen might have downplayed LIED about the climb at the end describing it as a little climb, when in fact it was in my opinion much harder than Mt. Lemmon.  I rode back to TriSports with Jen, Mia and Stacie and that was nice.  The conversation back determined that next year we would have a spa trip that might include small amounts of riding and running but mostly the spa!

When we returned to Trisports Sarah, Bethany, Mia, Stacie and I went on a short, short run before heading in for lunch.

The POOL is my favorite and swimming outside makes it better.  It was fun to swim with everyone in the sunshine!  Kate designed some AWESOME suits for us!

Sunday we hit Sabino Canyon....I have never been trail running, so this was a first.  It was about 6 miles up and then we ran down the paved road to finish.  Lindsey and I ran together and took lots of pictures.

Sabino Canyon pics

We did have a little visit from a rattlesnake which made our night interesting.  Glen took some awesome pictures and we manged to convince him that it was probably not all that smart to play with a rattler.  

After Sabino, Jen was so kind as to allow us to to TT repeats back up Mt. Lemmon.  I was not sure if I would make them but in fact I felt okay!  We did miles 1-5 twice before we called it a day.  

Monday we did trail running again which was not as technical as Sabino but fun.  I was glad to run back with Jen Maher and Mia.  We hit the pool for the final time and then I caught a LONG flight back to PA.  I spent more time on the runway in Dallas and Philly than in the air total.  I rolled in at 3 am and mommy duties began at 7!  

Thanks Jen and Jerome for a great weekend. 

an April is here......

Jackson kept busy while I was in Arizona.....the kids had a great time with Grandma and the house was kept in order which was AMAZING.

Tucson was great....and I will post more tomorrow.