Am I really going to do this?

So I spend way too much time on Facebook. My husband thinks that I really need to spend either less time on the computer or spend it in a more valuable way. He is the one who convinced me to join Facebook!! So he is encouraging me to start a blog with the intent of archiving my thoughts and activities for the future generations (or at least those kids living in my house right now). So I am going to start right here, right now! I am not going to try to rehash the last 11 years when I could have been blogging (were there blogs in 1998?).

I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom of 3 kids. Joey is almost 11, Bridget is 9 and Gus is 7. I love my kids! I really love the ages they are at right now. They are all old enough to enjoy so many activities together. For an example, we went to Lake Wilderness last week for a friend's birthday and my youngest got to go out in a kayak. How cool is that? My kids can all use public restrooms on their own. They stay home alone for short periods of time. They can actually play structured games together. They can all sit and listen to chapter books together. It is just a really fun age for the parents of 3 kids so close together. I remember when we had to pack up a diaper bag, 3 car seats, plenty of snacks, a change of clothes, toys, wipes, diapers etc. just to go to a park. If we went to a zoo or museum we could only stay for a few hours before someone started to melt down and need a nap. Now we can spend the whole day out having fun and if anyone gets cranky, it's usually me. In addition to the fun part of having my kids at this stage, they also do things to help out around the house. Granted, I would like them to do more, the garbage gets taken out (and the food waste and recycling), they can sweep, vacuum, simple cooking, and clean their rooms (just because they can, doesn't always mean they do).

So today we started school for the 09-10 school year. I asked the kids if they wanted to start on Monday or if they wanted to wait till Wednesday when our school district starts. They chose Monday. I can't say school went flawlessly though, it was challenging after a leisurely summer to get all 3 of them to pay attention at the same time. We will continue to work on eliminating distractions as we progress through the year. We are studying the Eastern hemisphere this year and I am excited about all the literature we will read about the Middle East, Africa, India, China and Japan (among others). I am also excited to read about missionaries in the 10/40 Window. I am hoping that this year will give us an opportunity to learn more about those who followed God's call to reach out to the lost. It should be good fun. I am also excited that my friend and her kids will be doing the same curriculum this year so we can talk about our favorites.

I am currently in the middle (OK, realistically I am at the end, but it stresses me out less to say middle) of training for my first (and yes, that implies that this won't be my last) Half Ironman distance triathlon. This includes a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run. This all started with a sermon on marriage when the Holy Spirit prompted me during the prayer to celebrate my 15th wedding anniversary by doing the Coeur d'Alene Ironman with my husband (who currently has completed 2 Ironman triathlons with another scheduled for June 2010). It was definitely the Holy Spirit because I wouldn't have come up with that one on my own. So I grew up swimming and I have been running (slowly) for about 5 years (3 marathons and 20 half marathons) so the bike is where I needed to spend my time. I did my longest ever bike ride on Wednesday of 70 miles. That included a really brutal hill (twice). I was so wiped (then we went to the lake to kayak). I continue to plug away at my training. I am able to work out each morning, shower and be ready for Joe to "go to work" at 8:00. If I don't get my butt out of bed, there are no second chances so I make it out of bed most days. Sundays are my day of rest (almost always). I like having a day where I don't have to do regular school stuff and I like keeping Sundays family days so it works out. Sometimes races are on Sundays but both Joe and I really try to protect Sundays.

Reading, that's the other thing I like to do. I wish I could read more, but I do what I can. I have been in a Book Club for almost 10 years! I have read lots of books that I never would have read if they hadn't been for Book Club. I just finished The Last Lecture for September and I am really glad I read it. It was a fast read, but the premise of a guy with three young kids and a wife dying just didn't make me want to read it. But being a mom of 3 youngish kids, it gave me some perspective about what I am leaving them. Granted I plan to be around for a long time, but you just never know. What will my kids remember about me, or even their childhood? Will they remember the fun times, the experiences the vacations or will they remember that mommy always got mad when they forgot to clear their dishes and she freaked out before a party or dinner guests to get the house clean? So since I am ahead on my book club book, I gave myself permission to read Eclipse (the 3rd book in the Twilight series). It is one of those brain candy kind of books which I have a hard time giving myself permission to enjoy but once I start the series I have to finish.

So I guess this is my intro post. I hope to post shorter and frequent posts to chronicle our crazy life!