the unlazy days of summer ...

Today marks the first day of summer vacation (The weekend didn't count. Weekends are nothing like Monday mornings). It was the first morning we didn't have to wake up to get out the door by 7:20 a.m. And the first morning I didn't have to yell at someone to "hurry up and get dressed."

The day had so much promise. We could stay in bed all day. We do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. Except ...

We couldn't.

Just when I think we will have nothing to fill our days with, we have so much more than any of us could ever wish for.

The girls were up at the cheerful hour of six. This in itself puzzles me, as I literally have to drag them out of bed at 6:45, 180 days a year. After convincing them to quietly lay in bed with me until 7:30, we made our way downstairs before heading to the YMCA.

I had a glorious plan for our morning. We would get to the Y by nine. The girls would go to Child Watch while I did my 3000 meter swim. After finishing around 10:30, I would pick them up and they would get changed for their swim lessons which ran from 11:00-12:00. With a snack and a drink for all of us packed in my bag, I had success in the palm of my hand.

Until, I didn't.

Things started out well. I was in the pool by 9:10. But as soon as I got in, I knew there was trouble. My normally quiet pool (it's usually me, two lap swimmers and a water aerobic class) was bursting with energy. Swarms of children (and their parents) overwhelmed the pool deck. About 15 minutes into my swim, the lifeguards reduced lap swim down to one lane. Suddenly, I was circle swimming with two backstrokers and a breaststroker, who completes one length for every four of mine. Fed up with the traffic jam, I cut my workout short. Only problem was there was over an hour before swim lessons started, we didn't have time to go home and I had three, less than patient, children to deal with.

I swear I answered the question, "How long until it's my turn?", a thousand times.

Just before the tears ...

Eventually, it was their turn. Doodle and Dizzle were champs and Dilly cried through pretty much the whole thing. It played out exactly as I expected. Then, after three long hours, we were able to leave the Y, with a new appreciation for swim lessons and a bucket full of bad attitudes.

Once in the car, Dilly scarfed down her bagged lunch on the way to an afternoon play date, while Dizzle and Doodle complained that they would be "so bored" since they didn't have anything to do. Never one to disappoint, I hooked them up with their own play date of sorts - a play date with school work. Nothing like an hour of mathematics to give them something to do ...

A little multiplication and addition ...

Now it's 3 p.m. and they are creating a behavior chart for themselves, complete with rewards and consequences and I have five minutes of peace for the first time today. And I was concerned that we'd have too much time on our hands this summer ...

Three Things Thursday ...

Non-Training Mileage Boost - For the first time in a very long time, I am not training for anything. My next running race isn't until Hood to Coast in August and my next triathlon is a sprint in September.

Of course, that doesn't mean I am floating along without direction. That's just not my style. Instead, I am currently working off a training plan that could probably have me ready to race a 70.3 in about 4 weeks. I mean, it only makes sense. You never know when someone is going to throw a free race entry at you. And I'd hate to have to pass something like that up.

With that said, there is one minor downfall to my current training style.

I keep adding workouts whenever I feel like it.

"Oh, the kids are in bed and you're going to watch TV? Why not watch TV from the trainer?"

"Oh, you have 30 minutes before anyone gets out of bed? Why not do some strength training?"

"What? No one is yelling at you while you're running on the treadmill? Why not double your mileage?"

And that, right there, is how I ended up logging an extra 20 miles on the bike and 3 miles on my run in the last two days. Yes, I know I have a problem.

Health Obsessed - Apparently, I'm not the only one with a love of fitness and healthy living in our house. Dizzle, Doodle and Dilly have jumped on that train too.

Need proof? Hmm, where to begin?

1. Every time Dilly finishes a glass of milk she says, "I drank all my milk so I can have strong muscles!"

2. We constantly find the girls using our free weights. Here's Dizzle doing some shoulder presses in front of a mirror while I run on the treadmill.

And, on more than one occasion, we have found Dilly sitting on the couch holding two pound dumbbells over her head in an attempt to "get big muscles."

3. I get asked about 865 times a day if we can go on a run or if we can run on the treadmill. And all three girls, including three year old Dilly, ran a mile on Monday and I had to literally drag them inside so that they would stop doing loops around our cul-de-sac.

4. My kids are afraid to say the "F" word. No, not that "F" word - FAT. Our conversations go a little something like this.

"Mom, don't eat all of that cake or you might get F-A-T" *cue scared face*

"Yes, if you eat too much cake all the time you might get fat. But you can have it sometimes."

"Oh, good. Because you really like cake."

5. "Can you help me with some stretches?" is a normal question in our house.

J and the girls stretching ...

6. The girls try to play catch with a six-pound medicine ball.

7. Swim caps, goggles, running skirts and tall socks have become casual wear around here.

I guess we could have worse obsessions ...

Summer Vacation - Now that it's May, I am anxiously awaiting the end of the school year. For some odd reason, I am really looking forward to having all three kids home all the time (we keep our Summer unscheduled. No camps. No classes. No anything). Or maybe it's just the sheer level of insanity that May has in store for us that makes me long for it to be over. 

Either way, I'm sure that two weeks into break, I am probably going to feel completely different, especially considering the lack of volume control that my children have.

How about you? Are you looking forward to or dreading Summer vacation? How do you plan to keep your kids occupied?

why I'm lacking content and a winner ...

Right now, the girls and I are halfway through our trip. And I've found it hard to find the time to write a post, because rather than staring at a computer we've been hanging out here ...

eating a lot of this (Ralph's Italian Ice - so yummy) ...

while catching up with family ...

But then, something that started out looking like this ...

sent us to the ER for the afternoon (spider bite - she's fine).

But, I've run. And played. And the girls are having a blast. Summer vacation is rocking their socks.

(And in case you were wondering, the drive here was fantastic. I swear someone sedated my kids before we left.)

And since we are having such a fabulous time, it's my turn to make someone's day by announcing the winner of the OnlineShoes.com Brooks Giveaway. There were 556 entries and thanks to random.org, the winner is ...

#73 Amanda @ There are Two Sides

Congrats! Please email me to claim your prize.

Didn't win? Go over and enter my NYC Marathon Fundraising raffle HERE. The next three winners will be selected on Friday.

what do you want to do on summer vacation?

Summer vacation. Three months of endless possibilities. I know what I want to do during my summer vacation. The list looks a little something like this:

• run
• swim
• bike
• go to Busch Gardens
• take a kid-free vacation (totally happening in less than a month!)
• visit my mom and J's parents
• relax
• NOT GO INSANE

I had hoped that the girls would have wish lists that matched up with mine. But when I asked them yesterday what they hoped to do this summer, here's what they told me ...

Dilly (age 1):

• dada
• mama
• nana
• nose
• muah
• shoe
• AHHHHHHH! (I think that's code for get me out of here!)

Dizzle (age 5):

• go to the beach
• go to Grandma and Grandpa's
• go to Mimi's
• go to Great-Grandma's
• play with you and Dilly (but apparently not Doodle)

Doodle (age 3):

• go to the slushie place (Sonic)
• go to Target
• go to the playground
• go to the Singing Dog Store (Tom Leonard's - a grocery store)
• go to the shirt store (I have no clue about this one)
• go to the slushy place. When we gonna go? It's summer vacation already. Let's go.

Obviously, my children have their priorities in line. Dilly wants to say the six words that she knows and to scream. Dizzle wants to spend time with her family. And Doodle wants to drink slushies and spend Daddy's money. You know, on second glance, their lists don't look half bad ...

Three Things Thursday ...

As I mentioned yesterday, today is the last day of preschool. And since my children attend a co-op, I am required to work in the classroom a few days a month. Today is one of those days. And tomorrow starts Summer vacation. Which makes it official. Bye-bye, eight hours of freedom. I'll see you in September. Now onto Three Things Thursday ...

1. Dizzle and Doodle have dance class on Wednesday nights. Yesterday, they received their costumes for the recital. And I'm just going to say it. They are BEYOND cute. Here's Dizzle dancing/posing in it (imagine it without the black tights and leotard underneath)...

When I saw it, I really was impressed. Dance costumes have come a long way in the 23 years since I danced in my first recital. (Dizzle and I are about the same age in these pictures.)

Seriously. What was my dance studio thinking? Was our recital circus-themed?

2. Speaking of dance class, I am fortunate enough to not have to stay for the class. So, I take advantage of this hour and squeeze in a run with Dilly in the stroller. But apparently, someone forgot to send me the memo that I shouldn't wear all black to run in because it was going to be 84 degrees at 5:30 last night. It was CRAZY hot. I was drenched. A total mess ...

3. In other news on the running front, I am racing a 5K this weekend. It will be my first non-virtual 5K in 53 weeks. I ran this course last May and set my current PR at the distance (25:19). I'm hoping to crush that. I've run over a minute faster in virtual races and in workouts, but I want a sub-25 on my permanent record.