15 Ways to ensure a stellar race day.....

1. Race the weekend before.

2. Walk in a parade the morning before the race.

3. Drive all over tar nation to rack your bike and attend a birthday party.

4. Eat lots of food you don't normally eat the night before the race.

5. Don't drink enough water the entire day before and then have a 32 oz soda.

6. Pack your bag at 10 pm the night before the race.

7.  Go to bed at least 2 full hours later than you normally do.

8. Dream that you miss the race because you spontaneously decide to take your son to the Zoo at 6 am.

9. Forget to buy bananas for race morning.

10. Forget your bike shoes the morning of the race, drive 3 miles up the road, turn around and go back to the house for them.

11. Drink half-caff coffee race morning because you forgot to buy regular coffee when you were supposed to get the bananas.

12. Leave your ipod at home for your daughter to play with.

13. Don't do your pre-race warm-up run, instead stand in line for the port-a-jane line for 25 minutes.

14. Forget to leave all your jewelry at home and stress about losing it in the water.

15. Stand around for an hour and a half before the race in bare feet because you forgot flip-flops.

And then enjoy a beautiful, early morning swim in the lake, a scenic 26 mile bike ride, and a HILL-acious 10k run.

All in all it was a gorgeous day, the event was flawless, and I felt strong despite an average finish.

Amen

You never know the lessons of the day and how they will come about.

About three weeks ago I bought Erin and Eoin fishing rods.

They came with a practice weight so they could practice casting in the back yard without hooking a Bridgie.

They had a lot of fun learning how to cast and Mr. Joe, our version of Mr. Wilson, popped his head over the fence and asked where I planned to take them Fishing. 

Mr. Joe is the resident expert fisherman of Harwell Avenue.  When I said we would try back lake, uh I mean Swann Park, he shared that corn would be our best bet as bait.

About three days later, Mr. Joe presented Eoin with two small hooks and a neon bobber for his rod.

This re-lit the fire under my heels to take them out.

Yesterday was our first adventure.  Daddy relocated his old tackle box under 32 screwdrivers, 56 packets of old screws from random projects, 106 old direction sheets, and  300 old t-shirts he's going to use for rags.  Kindly, he weighted and hooked the rods, I packed our bag with towels, water, a bucket, sunscreen, scissors, corn and band aids of course.

'twas a lovely afternoon, warm, sunny, and breezy.  We found our spot over by some fallen logs with resting turtles on them.  One large turtle basked by himself while a family of smaller turtles, about a dozen, on a smaller log.

We cast the pink rod first.  Erin held steady while we cast Eoins rod.  Instantaneously Eoin had reeled in some 'seaweed'.  Very exciting indeed.  Erin slowly reeled in her rod and we recast.  I turned to recast Eoin and Erin starts squealing and screaming....'My bobber's gone, my bobber's gone'  ready to drop the rod.  She tries to hand me the rod and I tell her to reel in slowly...'I can't I can't its stuck'.  So I take the rod and realize we indeed have a fish.

A decent size first catch.

'Eeewww I don't have to touch it do I?'

We think it to be some type of blue gill or perhaps a sunfish.  Sunfish are not listed on Maryland's DNR site as native to freshwater so we are not sure.

Erin reluctantly held the rod so I could free the fish, Eoin touched it with his pointer finger and we threw him back.

About 10 minutes later Eoin got a bite.  A BIG bite.  A bite that had him pushing towards the water and a bobber that truly had disappeared.  I figured we had a log or something so I grabbed the rod and began to reel in the resisting  species.  As it came into shallow water my heart sank....a turtle.  A big dinner plate size turtle.  And the kids sensed it too.  I brought the turtle out of the water and tried to grab him.  Erin and Eoin would not get near the rod, so they were no help.  I put the rod down and stepped on it while trying to grab the turtle.  He was no help either.  Squirming and desperate to get back into the water.  I tried a third time to put one hand on the turtles back, my foot on the rod and my other hand trying to free the hook.  The kids were getting scared at this point and I figured it better for me to cut him free than risk getting bit with the kids starting to freak.  So, after 2 minutes of Erin trying to find the scissors we cut 'Her' free.  We watched as she swam away with Mr. Joe's neon bobber floating on the surface.  Soon it disappeared.

We just stood watching.  It is then that I looked over at Eoin and saw the worst look of grief I have ever seen on his little face.  I swooped him up into a hug and said what's the matter Eoin? 

'Her still have hook' and he cried.

(It's interesting that he said her, as everyone and thing is him up until this point)

Erin: 'It's okay Eoin her friends will help her get free'

Me: 'Yes, Erin's right all her turtle friends will help get her free and be safe" She's going to be just fine.

Erin: 'Maybe we should pray'

Me: 'yes we should, let's hold hands'

Erin: 'No, like this.' Hands folded in prayer in front of her.

Me:'Dear God please take care of our turtle friend, we are very sorry for hooking her. Please keep her safe.  Amen'

Eoin: 'AMEN!'  'Mommy, what's Amen?'

Me: 'Amen is thank you God'

Eoin: 'Yes, Amen, thank you God'

It is here we began to see the neon bobber floating towards us.  I am pretty sure the bobber was alone.

After a few more casts with the Barbie rod, we fed the fish with the rest of our corn and packed up.

We stopped to do what we do best on the way out......

Play.

Can't wait to tell Mr. Wilson, I mean Mr. Joe about our adventure.  He'll surely know what kind of fish it was.

I'm linking up with Family Time Tuesday with this post.

http://www.celebrating-family.com/

I've told you before....

Don't turn your back on this girl.

She is happy to entertain herself by pulling clothes out of drawers.

Dumping diaper baskets.

And basking in all her glory.

She is equally happy chewing on her crib rail and the t.v. stand, playing in the toilet, emptying wipe containers entirely of their contents, pulling all of the paper out of the shredder, and spilling juice all over the floor by chewing the nipple of her bottle.

Wait, WHERE IS HER MOTHER?

Why Tri?

Because I can.

And when I can't...

God can.

Triathlon is very meditative for me.  I find comfort, peace, and pleasure in the monotony of endurance sport.  There is an inner calm that comes as the water continually rushes over you, as the road rises to meet you, and the repetition of arms swinging and legs lifting propels you forward.

I have always been a runner.  An endorphin junkie.  As a teenager I did not know the necessity of that endorphin rush.  As an adult I know that those endorphins are my lifeline.  They push me through the day and motivate me to do better in all aspects of my life.  They keep me from putting chemicals in the form of Prozac into my body.

After carrying and giving birth to three children over the course of 4 1/2 years, my body and mind began to rebel.  The diagnosis of Down Syndrome for my third child began a process of  wheel spinning in my brain that led to overeating, stress, and depression.  I would not have told you that then but that's what it was.

Tremendous weight gain, hormone fluctuations, vein insufficiency, high blood pressure, and gall bladder attacks.  I had the saphenous veins in both legs closed and my gall bladder removed with in three months of each other, all the while caring for three children 5 and under. 

Around this same time, Anne Arundel County Parks and Rec announced a Sprint Triathlon at Ft. Smallwood park to benefit people in the county with special needs. In fact, all proceeds go to help pay the registration fees for the special sports programs.

As a senior in high school one of my "ambitions", printed in the 1992 Arundel year book, was to "successfully complete a triathlon by the time I turn 40". So the "Rec Deeds for Special Needs Tri" was a no brainer. As if the good Lord was bonking me on the head saying "hello, you are 36, 40 is 4 years away". So, I did my first tri. Mission Accomplished!! Uh, no.

You see the ambition arose while I watched the television coverage of the 1992 Hawaii Ironman World Championships. I cried my eyes out in my little brothers room, (why he had a tv in his room I do not know), watching all the back stories of the competitors. The Ambition is an Ironman.

2.4 mi. swim • 112 mi. bike • 26.2 mi. run

I completed the Rec Deeds Tri and overcame my fear of murky water and that Ambition began to sit on my other shoulder during my runs. So it is with the Lord. God has plans for me.

Ambition and Religion, proselytizing, counseling, motivating, and healing me. Together.

I have since completed a myriad of Triathlon events including one Half Ironman.  With each training session and race my ambition and motivation is heightened.  Not to be a better triathlete but to be and do better as a person.

There will be many cant's in our life raising three children in this crazy world, I want to be the example of  I can and God can for my children.

Down Syndrome has taught me this:

We are all ABLE just in different ways, we all CAN some just choose not to.

When life gives you lemons....

Today, I was practicing making hair clips to sell for Bridgie's Brigade.

Erin wanted to make one too.

But she's not allowed to use the glue gun

So........

She watched what I was doing and used paper and tape!

I think we might have to do it her way instead!



Odenton Patch Blog Post

http://odenton.patch.com/blog_posts/guest-blog-recognizing-world-down-syndrome-day

Baltimore, D.C.

Car Conversation:

Eoin- "I wanna go to the see-um (museum)"

Erin- "Eoin, It's taking so long because it's in Baltimore, D.C......"

"And that's not even in our country!"

Yesterday we went to the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore

Erin was invited to a student artist reception where her artwork was on display.

Erin and her classmates learned about Chinese pottery and calligraphy and then created their own samples.

Erin and her classmate were given certificates for their artistic achievement at a brief gathering in the sculpture court. 

After the ceremony we celebrated in the cafe with a 'big cookie', some chips and a 'brown soda'.

Eoin says Erin you keep achieving so I can have more 'brown soda'!!

I was worried about Eoin in the 'see-um'  thinking he would be bored, hyper, and uncooperative.

Boy did he prove me wrong!!!

Happy for his sister,

Serious about observing bugs and butterflies,

And enthusiastic about exhibits.

"What can we see now".  "Let's go find some more fings to see"

Erin and Eoin really enjoyed some of the larger sculptures of people.  We played a game called 'what is missing?'

You know arms, noses, heads....

Eoin wanted to know 'what happen to he nose?'

I told him they were very old sculptures and they had been broken.

"broked?  Who did it? Who broked the noses?"

I asked him 'did you do it?"

"NOOOOO"

I said, I know....'Bridgie did it!'

"NOOOO, he too wittwle"

We learned some very valuable lessons as well.

Like whispering and how to pronounce sarcophagus.

Erin found a painting of Jesus resurrecting a young girl from her death bed.  She was very intrigued by this and learned what resurrecting means.

She wished she had some paper and markers with  her so she could draw some of the things she saw.

As for Bridgie, she did what she does best, make friends with  all the guards and women with long hair!!!!

A very wonderfully fun and exciting family day!