How many blog entries have I started with “long time, no blog.” Too many, but whatever…

So…long time, no blog!

It was not quite two years ago that I last blogged and I can’t imagine why I stopped. Oh yeah…starting a full time job, juggling a 3-year-old and a one-year-old, dealing with a husband still in grad school…the usual.

So what’s happened in the last two years that is blog worthy. What have I accomplished or better yet what have I survived…

1. Daddy Man finished grad school (YEAH!), started lifting weights HEAVY, put on lots of muscle, and looked pretty beef cake. And then a year ago he decided he wanted to do triathlons. So he bought running shoes and a bike, lost some muscle, got leaner, looks hot, and competed in three (one more to go) triathlons this summer. Kansas 70.3 Ironman is on his next kick-butt list. Oh…and he got a vasectomy, so no more browns or blues!

2. Brown is now SIX! We survived kindergarten and are on the way to first grade. He LOVES school, just like his mama did. Loves reading, loves math, loves the library, loves riding the bus, loves recess, loves PE, loves music, loves art, loves his friends. I love that kid.

3. Blue is FOUR! We survived two and three, and we might just survive four. He’s starting his second year of preschool and he likes school. He tolerates learning, just like his daddy did. He takes speech twice a week because he has poor articulation or as his pa calls it “dutch-y.”

4. I lost more weight. I don’t really know how much I lost in the last two years, but my total weight loss from July 2006 when I started my journey is 30lbs! BOOM! I have a whole new closet of clothes and it feels amazing.

5. I bought a bike…err…two bikes. I bought one to get my feet wet riding again and then I fell in love with riding on the road and wanted to be fast. I have a Specialized Ariel hybrid bike named Mermaid and a BADASS Trek Madone 4.5 road bike. And I have to admit I am afraid of my road bike. She has clipless pedals and I like to fall over. But I’m learning and gaining confidence.

6. I became a runner. A little over a year ago I decided I wanted to run the RiverRun 10K in Wichita. A double dose of bronchitis put those plans on hold, but I had been bit by the running bug. I have used the Couch to 5K program to get started and now I’m running a few miles a week and building my stamina. The ultimate goal is to comfortably be able to jump into 5K and 10K runs throughout the year. And to get faster. A 10:30 mile is ok, but I’d like to get it to sub-10. Maybe a duathlon if I can get over my fear of clipless pedals!

7. I switched jobs. The full-time worker gig was not for me. The housework piled up. I was short with my husband. I didn’t see my boys enough. My mom and my in-laws were exhausted from being my daycare. I quit the para job at the school and found my DREAM job at the local public library. My official title is youth services assistant, but basically I’m a part-time children’s librarian. Maybe I’ll do it full-time some day, but for now I’m happy with my 20-ish hours a week.

Ummm…I think that’s it. We still live on the compound with my extended family. We enjoy the rural life and are contemplating a way to make it permanent and still get the bigger home that we desire and need.

Be prepared for more frequent postings on a variety of topics. Food, working out, silly anecdotes from Brown and Blue, books…you know, my favorite things. Hope you all will tune in!