A summer of fun comes to an end

School starts tomorrow for Hayley and I have SO many mixed emotions about this! She'll be in VPK, which means she'll be at school EVERYday. Granted, just for a half day, but still every weekday. Little Todd will also be starting school for the first time and will attend on Tuesday and Thursday. He is THRILLED and seems to completely have his own class, his own independence, and his own backpack. So while I'm sad that I'm going to be ALONE for two mornings out of the week, I'm also pretty darn excited that I'm going to be ALONE for two mornings out of the week!! And how will I spend this ridiculous amount of child free time? Well first, I plan to go to the bathroom. BY MYSELF. Something I haven't done in four years. Then, I may just sit and enjoy the silence, the state of bliss that will be no one under the age of five questioning what we're going to have for lunch, what we're going to do the rest of the day, and whether or not I am lost. So after those initial ten minutes were I've accomplished a bathroom break and enjoyed five minutes of silence, I fully expect the sniveling to commence... I'll be ALONE! At least I've still got Chloe, who incidentally seems all too thrilled at the prospect of having 6 hours a week where there is no chance of teeny tiny fingers being stuck in her face.

We've had a fun summer though and both the kids have transformed into little water bugs. The pool has been a daily thing and Hayley is all over the big pool across the street from our house, much less our backyard pool. We again spent a lot of time in the jogging stroller, and Todd has developed his own training style with me. As I stopped for a drink of water the other morning, Hayley yelled at me to "keep running!" It was HOT out and I replied, "I'm dying." Todd said, "no, you IronMommy!" Clearly, while Hayley is still my drill sergeant, Todd takes more of a psychological approach to coaching!

And speaking of IronMommies, it certainly explains the lack of blogging. Our little group has been growing and we've spent the summer getting teams started in several different states. We even had an interview and article with our local paper. It's been a very exciting adventure and I'm looking forward to another winter of racing and yes, marathon training. After cutting back on miles this summer, I've realized that there is definite serenity that comes with marathon training. Somehow knowing you've got a 23 mile training run coming up just puts all of your other life problems into perspective. I'm looking forward to the stress relief!