Muddy Buddies...

I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that marathon runners are no longer the craziest people I know. It's true. There are crazier people out there. And they are called adventure racers. Back in December while Mikey and I were drinking beers in Santa costumes in the warmth of a bar several of my Perfect Stranger girls ran the Huff 50k. Crazy. That's 30 miles. In the mud. I was happy I was in the comfort of a warm beard and company of a cold beer. Jaime and I texted back and forth all morning how crazy the girls were and how happy we were that we weren't there. So why, oh why, did I get roped into running something similar (yet much, much more tame)? It's what we runners do; we are constantly searching for the next "runner's high." We crazy.

Christi, Bri, Amy and I ran the Planet Adventure Winter Trail Quarter Marathon last night. It consisted of a 6.55 mile loop around Eagle Creek. There was also an option to run the half and full marathon (read: 2 or 4 more laps than our 1). I have been sick for the better part of the last 2 weeks with a (self diagnosed) sinus and ear infection. This means I haven't been running much. But what's 6.5 miles? I figured I could run that mileage in my sleep and plus, I was on the mend with the help of my most favorite nurse.

I picked up Christi and we headed down to Amy's house where Bri was there waiting for us. We quickly put on our awesomely bright matching socks and headed to the race.

As soon as we got into Bri's Libby we immediately started talking about how "cray" we were to be heading into the trails. In the dark. In the cold. We all got onto our iPhones and started blasting FB with our excitement (we each were commenting on the others' status updates while we were sitting in the same car with each other...really quite comical). We parked. We got our bibs. And we noticed people staring. I mean, a lot of these runners were here to run a freaking marathon while we were here dressed up as if it were another Mo.non themed run. Let them laugh. We had a blast!

Staying warm in the car

Walking to the start

Head lamps were required (since we'd be running well into the night). Christi & Bri rocked their new knuckle lights and I have to tell you, they were BRIGHT. I mean, if I fell behind, Bri would simply flip her hand behind her and the path was lit up. Those things are powerful!

A before shot of our clean socks and shoes...

While we were waiting for 6 o'clock to arrive we listened to the pre-race instructions. We were warned of slippery stairs and places along the route that were single file only. Yada yada yada, let's get started. And we were off. Running on pavement. No big deal. Riiight.

Within a minute we were on the trails; bobbing and weaving, leaping and lunging, laughing and moaning. To say this was difficult is a severe understatement. The hills, oh the hills! The mud. The icy stairs (and the many bridges we laughingly power walked over). And that was just the first 5 minutes. For reals. Christi soon took off (being the bad a$$ that she is) and the three of us stuck together for the remaining 6 miles.

We took in the scenery (as best we could, as trail running requires ALL your focus on your very next step) as the sun was setting over the reservoir. We got plenty of comments on our socks (reminded me of our tutus from last year's R.agnar). And within the first 2 miles I thought to myself, "How in the eff am I going to finish this?!?" My thighs were burning and my lungs were tight. Screwed. But I powered on. Sometimes taking walking breaks. Was happy to see the slippery stairs, as that meant a rester for my lungs while I slowly watched my step.

We crossed over the reservoir on a narrow gravel trail (or as Bri likes to put it, on an isthmus), with water on both sides of us. This terrain allowed us to take a mental break and take in the scenery. The serene water. The beautiful sunset. As we got to the other side, the sun was down and we looked both ahead and behind us at the trail of headlamps. Was such an amazing moment. And we all relished in it.

Two miles in and we encountered our first aid station. Trail mix anyone?

From what I remember, miles 2-4 were hilly as all get out. There was a LOT of going up and not so much going down. We then remembered we went down a good amount of stairs in the first few miles. Awesome. My legs were en fuego. Aid station #2 offered us the most amazing mini potato I've ever eaten. We fueled up while the volunteers said, "See you next time around!" To which Amy replied, "We'll be at the bar the next time around!" Which got us all to talking...we were so happy we were only doing one lap. And we all agreed we'd do this race again next year while vowing to not ever be talked into more than the quarter. Pinky swear.

Miles 4-6.5 were muddy. I'm talking peanut butter mud. Amy almost lost her shoe because the mud was so thick and unforgiving. I heard her shoe being suctioned from her foot and winced, not wanting to see her argyle sock bare. Thankfully she recovered; however, the worst was yet to come. We tried running on the outskirts of the mud only to find the bare brush contained thorns. Many, many sharp thorns (my thighs have the scratches to prove it!). There was no getting around the mud. I kept on thinking of a book I read to the girls We're Going On A Bear Hunt: "Oh no, mud! Thick, oozy mud! We can't go over it, we can't go under it...oh, no! We'll have to go through it! Squelch, squirt, squelch, squirt." And there was a lot of squelching and squirting. For miles. Uphill. And we paid money to do it.

We finally could hear the announcer's voice at the finish line through the woods and it seemed like forever until we reached him. But we did. All of us finished. Christi rocked it out with a 1:12...

While Amy, Bri and I locked arms and ran through the shute in (very frozen) smiles. I had predicted we'd finish in 1:30 and we came in just shy of that:

A quick picture of our muddied tooters

We stopped for food at the heated recovery (hello PB&J sammies, chili and hot chocolate!) and we were ready to get out of dodge

After a quick change at Amy's house we headed to the bar in our matching PS sweatshirts (jealous?)

Before drinks arrived we passed around our awesomely random finisher's medals to be signed yearbook style by our teammates

We toasted, we drank, we ate, we moaned. We shared many laughs and lots of heart to hearts. I may have even cried (I know, you're not surprised). But to think that a year ago I had one bestie and we felt so alone (yet together) with our addiction to running. That no one in our lives truly understood why we ran. And here we are, one year later, with a lot of closies (Jaim's term) that get us. I mean, Amy & Bri are running one race every month this year, while Christi ran just shy of 100 miles this month. Incredible we all found each other. So very happy, I am.

My beer cup runneth over.

We should be somewhere tropical...

For reals. It's gotten cold here. Quick. Went from 50 degree weather a few weeks ago to the teens and twenties. No thanks. I suppose I have to suffer through this in order to get my coveted summer & fall. I'll make it through. Just will complain a touch.

This weekend was the annual trip when my high school girls travel down from Chicago. They come to Indy in the winter and I travel to them in the summer. Not sure how we got on that schedule but it's been about 8 years that we've done it and we're not stopping any time soon.

Great weekend to travel down to Indy from Chicago you say? Not so much. Chicago got hit with a massive winter storm Friday afternoon, just in time for Mary to leave the 'burbs. Took her a whopping 3 hours to get to Jenny downtown. Then another 7 to get to Indy. By the time they got here it was 2am and they were hoping since they'd been in the car that long that they would've ended up somewhere tropical. Not so much. I'm continually amazed at the lengths my girlfriends go to see me (and the girls and Mikey). Although they didn't end up in Florida, we still managed to have a fun weekend together.

I'm pretty sure I only got 4 hours of sleep Friday night (we're dealing with some sleep issues from Laney - don't even get me started...but tonight we're on crack-down, Healthy Sleep Habit style), which made for a long day Saturday. But there was no way I was going to nap while my girls were here. Made some monkey break and waited for the ooey-gooey cinnamon aroma to wake Jen & Mary to come down and play. Several hours of playing later, we packed up and headed to Izzy's gymnastics class.

 During nap time we went out for lunch and a little shopping...and picked up some craft supplies (it wouldn't be a girls' weekend without a little crafting).

  My friend, Bri, introduced me to the timer feature on my camera that takes 10 picture (rapid-fire style) in a row. I'll spare you the crazy antics that went on but trust me, they are priceless. Note Jenny's awesome belt around her waist; this is a $200 ab "contour belt" purchased from a late-night infomercial by Mary. It was pure comedy to watch her use it (every day they were here) and of course Jenny and then Mike had to try it out (I'm dumb, but not that dumb).

 Saturday we collectively decided to stay in; we ordered pizza, played games, and stayed up way too late. Perfect. We crafted for several more hours this morning before the girls left for home. Thankfully the roads were clear and the weather cooperated so they didn't have another 10 hour trek. Loved having them here. Already planning my summer trip to Chicago. Thinking Lolla.palooza in August.

 And because these are just so darn cute, I have to share:

Here's to being somewhere tropical in less than 11 weeks. But who's counting?

Just another run in the snow...

I'm running the Carmel Half Marathon in April, which is 14 weeks away. My typical 12 week training program hasn't begun yet but I'm doing something a little differently this winter season; I haven't stopped running since my marathon in November. Gasp! Imagine that, I'm running for fun, not just for training! I figure having a solid, strong base level of physical fitness can only help me for my next training program. Novel idea, I know.

Many of the Perfect Strangers are running Spring marathons so this means they are knee deep into their training. Which translates into Saturday morning runs are back on the regular. Giddy up.

Jaime ran a few (very early) miles before meeting me at the Monon. Her first words when she ran up to me were, "I hope you don't want to run faster than 10 minute miles because I can't go one second faster. I have so many layers on that I'm thankful not to be carrying any extra baby weight!" And there she had me laughing at the crack of dawn. And I could totally relate. I was wearing two layers of pants, 4 layers of tops, a very warm winter hat, ultra warm mittens and a neck gaiter. We joked that we felt like Ralphie's little brother, not being able to put our limbs all the way down as we were bundled so heavily. Turns out all those extra layers paid off because not one of us complained of being cold.

Headlamps on a brisk 17 degree January morning

 Jaim and I ran a few miles to meet Karie, who thought we were nuts before this morning and then after seeing the 3 inches of snow on the ground I'm sure she thought we were insane in the membrizzle. Jaime tried to drink some of her fuel only to realize it was slushy. And off we went to meet the next group.

 We found the footing on the trail to be very fresh powder, more slippery in some parts than others. Jaime had a near wipe out but recovered like the graceful dancer that she is. At one point, just as it was becoming light out, we started talking about our Ragnar team and how we changed our name from last year to Perfect Strangers this year. We had just passed a guy and he must have overheard us talking because he chimed in, "Are you girls the Perfect Strangers running group?" Why yes. Yes we are. I must have been beaming because my cheeks hurt (or maybe that was from the frigid temps). Was so proud. And mostly thrilled. Turns out the guy was one of Meggie's very first running partners (they dubbed themselves the "Negative Splits"). Small world.

 We soon noticed a large group of women running towards us and as we got closer (and nearly passed them) we realized it was the gals we were to pick up closer to the BRipp. Funny, we were all so bundled up that we were nearly unrecognizable! We took pictures (this is customary in our group) and turned back around, as it was Jaime's halfway point. A few miles back and we dropped Karie back off at her stop then quickly ran into our last few gals closer to Carmel. We all had different mileage that we needed to run and morning commitments to meet, so this is why there were so many varying starting and stopping points throughout the morning.

 Another mile or so and we were at my stopping point. I hugged the girls goodbye and had headed indoors to warm up (and greet my fellow Carmel Runners Club peeps).

 Christi, Bri and I warming up in our rockin' winter gear. I was talking to a fellow CRC member and he asked about my mileage...I explained to him that I just finished my run with my normal Saturday morning girls. He said, "Oh yeah, are you guys called the Strangers or something?" Yep! That's us! We're kind of a big deal. Ha! So proud to be associated with such strong, beautiful, and compassionate women. I hugged the last of the girls goodbye and drove home with a huge smile on my face. It's amazing that just a year or two ago 8 miles in 3 inches of snow sounded dreadful, yet today it was the highlight of my weekend.

 And on a completely different note, I have to add a few pics of the girls from the weekend. Recently Laney has been getting out of her bed on her own (Izzy has never once done this so it's still pretty new to us). We'll wake up hearing scratching on our door, or see her standing outside our door. I went upstairs yesterday afternoon to grab something (during nap time) and this is what I saw at the top of my stairs. She's never crying. Never playing. Just hanging out. Freaky!

 And this is how Izzy sleeps every night. She sets up every one of her 500 lovies in her bed then falls asleep herself. We routinely "clean up" her bed of all her buddies but somehow they all end up back up in her bed. It's like the E.T. movie...can you find Izzy among all the stuffed animals? Love her. So much.

Testing 1, 2, 3...

Laney's EEG was scheduled on Friday afternoon. At nap time. I told Mike he didn't have to come with us, as I was under the impression that only one parent could be in the room with Lane at a time. Boy, was I wrong. I wish Mike had been there with me because not only was the test traumatizing & tumultuous, but it was also exhausting. Physically and emotionally. We were only at the office for 1.5 hours but it felt like days.

Upon picking up Bug from school she had a present awaiting her from her best buddy, Sammy. We had been preparing her for several days that she'd be going to the "fun" doctor (they gave her a quilt and had a waiting room full of interactive, state of the art toys...so it was as fun as a doctor's office can be) to take a nap. That she'd be getting magic buttons on her head with a magic hat over them. No big deal. We just packed a bag full of her lovies and a fan for white noise (Jaime was cracking up when I told her Bug would have to take a nap, "I'd love to see the size of the bag you carry into that office with your jet-engine fan!").

Still happy waiting to be called

We thought we had prepared Laney (and ourselves) for what was to be an hour and a half nap (so we thought). But no amount of reading materials and personal accounts could prepare us for what was to come.

Apparently the entire process was to take 1.5 hours. Thirty to forty five minutes of prep time consisted of the most horrifying 45 minutes of my life. I had to lay Laney on a hospital bed, on top of a white sheet. The nurse then swaddled (I called it a straight-jacket) Laney and I was told to put my entire body on top of her to hold her down to ensure her arms don't come out. Oh, and at the same time hold her head still so the nurse could meausre all the spots the electrodes were to be placed.

Turns out Laney wasn't a fan of being wrapped up, having her mom on top of her, and being marked with a black crayon. Go figure. The screaming ensued immediately. Blood curdling screaming & crying. Her eyes staring into mine (as I was just inches from her face) begging for this all to end. No words I could say, no songs I could sing would calm her. Laney is a finger sucker; she self soothes and was unable to do so as her arms were tied down (by me). Hurt so much knowing I was inflicting all of this pain on my baby. But all the while the nurse said this was completely normal. Wow, sure am glad I don't have her job.

Once all of the markers were placed on her head, the nurse then told me that she will now have to glue all twenty seven electrodes to Laney's head. Excuse me, did you say twenty seven? Those 30 minutes of measuring and gluing were the worst 30 minutes of my life. Pretty sure of it. The nurse wrapped a large bandage around Lane's head, put two more electrodes on her chest (for an EKG) and turned the lights off. By now Laney had worked her hand out and her fingers found her mouth. She was calm and content now. Drifting off into a slumber. One minute later and the nurse said one of the electrodes wasn't working; she'll have to replace it. Are. You. Serious?!

Lights on. Unwrap bandage. Try to get aforementioned glued-on electrode off and replaced. Laney was now woken up by her hair being tugged and her screaming quickly started again. By now my arms were extremely sore from the 30 minute wrestling match we'd already had. Anyway, the electrode was replaced and the lights were again off. All set. Or not...

Since Laney sucks her fingers to fall asleep, as soon as she'd drift off her fingers would fall out of her mouth and she'd quickly jerk them back into her mouth. I didn't notice any of this, but the nurse said she could tell based on her brain patterns on the computer she was monitoring. She suggested we prop Laney's arm up so the fingers don't fall out (and so she could get this testing underway). Propping worked.

This test was not only monitored on a fancy computer, but it was also video & audio recorded. I walked over to the monitor and was blown away at how much was going on. Brain patterns, heart rate, video of my sweet girl sleeping. Was intense. And anyone that knows me knows that I'm a question asker. I was chomping at the bit to ask the nurse what it all meant, but didn't want to wake Lane. Here's what she looked like in the dark testing room:

Fifteen minutes after Laney fell asleep the nurse said to me, "Ok, we can wake her up now." Um, what? I was prepared for Laney to get a good nap in. And now we have to wake her up? Mmkay. And the kicker? She had to be woken up with a strobe light one foot from her face (flashing lights sometime bring on seizures). I once again had to lay on top of Laney and hold her head straight so as to keep her staring at the light. When was this torture going to end? Here's how Laney looked once the strobe light stopped:

Finally it was time to take everything off, which I thought would be the easy part. Not so much. Remember, these 27 electrodes were glued. Onto a head of hair.

Warm washcloth compresses and lots of combing and tugging later, a few electrodes were removed. Laney was less than thrilled with all of this as you can tell from her sad little face:

Finally all 27 electrodes were removed (with much glue still left in her hair for me to take care of at home) and Laney was back to her happy self (with the help of a sucker). We were elated to be walking out of that office.

We were told we'll get the results in the next week. Good news (normal EEG) and we'll get something in the mail. Bad news (abnormal EEG) and we'll get a phone call from the doctor. Either way, we're glad this test is behind us and are just ready to get some answers.

Absent. Yet Here.

A few weeks ago I wrote about some concerns we've been having with little Laney Bug and I want to take this time to update you. And also to document everything we're going through so as not to forget any of it.

First things first: Laney is going to be just fine. Want to get that out of the way before anyone's heart skips a beat.

The week before Christmas the girls were invited to a fancy tea party at Nanny Natalie's house with Miss Kay (Natalie’s mom). Everyone had a great time. Tea was had. Cookies were frosted. Pictures were taken. The girls came home with stories. I was sent pictures from Natalie. As far as I was concerned, everything was right with the world. Until.

Miss Kay (aka Granny Panties) called that same evening to tell me how much they loved having the girls. How special they are. And probably other things I forgot. Miss Kay had never called me, but after such an eventful morning, I didn't think anything of it. Until.

Kay went on to say, "I noticed some behavior today that is a little concerning and I'd be remiss to not tell you. Mother to mother." I thought she'd say something about how Laney bit Izzy or one of the girls mouthed off. Nope. Not even close. Kay said that as they were sitting down to eat lunch Laney zoned out. They took a picture and Laney didn't look. Didn't move. Kay and Natalie called her name. Nothing. They made noises, clapped, to no avail. Bottom line, Bug was unresponsive.

I immediately thought, "Oh, Lane is just a stubborn little girl and often times ignores us!" But couldn't utter these words, as Kay kept going. She was very thorough in her description and talked to me so slowly I felt the world was going to stop. Kay knew this was going to be hard to hear and she spoke to me so softly. So kindly. I asked her what this meant. The answer was more than I could wrap my brain around.

Kay said that what she thought she witnessed was a petit mal seizure. A WHAT?!?! (Back story on Miss Kay: she sold pharmaceuticals for over 20 years. At one point in her career she sold a drug for seizures to pediatric neurologists.) She explained that a petit mal seizure is when a child basically zones out for anywhere from 10-45 seconds, unresponsive to any stimulus (which is the opposite of a grand mal seizure where convulsions are present). Kay said she wasn't diagnosing but she had and idea of what may be wrong. She once sold a drug for just this behavior (read: when you sell pharma, you are trained extensively on the drug you are selling, as you have to be able to talk-the-talk with the physicians). Bottom line: Kay knew what she was talking about. And the name for it is absence epilepsy.

All I heard was epilepsy and I lost it.

I took notes. Copious notes. I didn't want to miss a thing. I could barely read what I was writing, as the tears were just flowing. They wouldn't stop. I had no idea what epilepsy meant or entailed, but I feared the worst.

Kay said that most times this type of epilepsy/seizure goes undiagnosed until elementary school, when the teacher calls home to tell the parent their child is a day dreamer. Not focused. Also that children grow out of this form of epilepsy by their teens and in the meantime there are great drugs to help stop the seizures. What Kay was doing was trying to settle me. Reassure me. Yet I still cried.

I cried because I was uneducated on epilepsy. But more, I cried because I didn't notice it first. I mean, I did. But I ignored it. Thinking she was being a terrible two and ignoring us. Tuning us out. Both Mike and I had witnessed her “zoning out” but simply thought she was being her stubborn little self. Nope. Not the case. But how were we supposed to know it was anything but ignoring us since we didn’t know what we didn’t know?

My guilt for being a full time working-outside-of-the-house-mom hit me. Hard. I’ve never really had any of that guilt, as I simply love my job and know that I need the structure, achievement, acknowledgement, and personal development I gain with working full time. But during this phone call? I was floored. Why do I work 40 hours a week, only spending 2-3 hours with my girls each evening, and miss something so big? I should have been the one to call this out.

Kay understood my tears and went on to tell me what amazing parents we are, what a great role model I am to the girls, how lucky our girls are to have us as parents. She truly is the sweetest woman and so caring and compassionate.

As I collected myself at the end of the call, I wrote down Kay’s suggestion to get Laney checked out at our Pediatrician followed by a referral to the best pediatric neurologist in town.

Hung up the phone and Mike and I just stared at each other. Both of us in denial that what Laney was enduring were really seizures. But both of us realizing the occurrences are very strange and worth getting checked out. We were both a little (or a lot) stunned.

I immediately texted Jaime. Then her husband. To no avail. What’s a girl to do without her bestie to talk her down from a ledge? Somehow I fell asleep and woke up the next morning to a text that Jaime was awake. I called her at 6am, retold the story, cried my eyes out, then listened as she talked me down from the ledge. Jaim reviewed the pros, the cons, personal stories she knew about epilepsy and then she reminded me that she, too, had a horrible scare when Jacob was born. So she got it. She knew what I was going through. Hearing that from Jaim made all right in my world.

I scheduled a pediatrician appointment for the next day. The doctor checked Laney out (as best as he could, given he’s a general practitioner not a specialist) and listened to us recounting the stories of all the times we’d seen her “zone out.” He referred us to the same ped neuro that Kay did and was able to get us an appointment on January 7th. In the meantime, our ped told us to pay special attention over the next two weeks of vacation to any of these episodes. If possible, to record them for the neuro. Roger that. We had a plan. And almost two weeks of family time together. Really was perfect timing (if there is such a thing when it comes to something wrong with your child).

Now that we were in tune with what may be happening, I was ultra aware of Laney’s behavior. And the sad part is that we witnessed the “zone outs” multiple times over the course of the break. Our parents saw them. My sister saw them. It was now clear that this wasn’t just zoning out. We saw Laney have these episodes at the dinner table, while baking cookies, mid-dance party, you name it. My mom even poked her cheek (gently) and spread some frosting on her lips while she stared off. Not even a blink of an eye from Bug. Each time one of these episodes happened I just watched her, called her name and teared up. Looking at whoever else was in the room witnessing the same thing, saying with my eyes, “See? That was it. Isn’t that sad?” I was sad because now others were witnessing it. No turning back now. Something was amiss.

And not one time did I record any of them via video. Because all I could do was look at my baby and feel so helpless.

Last week I was finally able to tell my neighbor, Jill, about what was going on with Laney and her possible seizures. Jill’s immediate response, “I’ve seen them!” Heart. Breaking. Now even more people noticed her behavior pre-Kay phone call.

Just yesterday Jaime told me that the day I called her at 6am, after she dropped her boys off at school, she watched Laney in her classroom for a while. And even Jaime saw Laney zone out. In the middle of play time. Again, another person validating what we are all concerned about.

In fact, Nanny Natalie sent a picture from the day of the tea party that was taken at the beginning of the episode that Kay called about. Natalie and Izzy are looking at the camera and poor Buggy is staring in the opposite direction, head down. In true form to all the episodes we have been seeing on our own. Was tough to look at.

Finally January 7th arrived and we met our amazing ped neuro. He came not only highly recommended by my pediatrician and Kay (she called on him during her pharma days) but also from our neighbor. Jill has siblings that are quads and one of them has an extreme case of cerebral palsy. Dr. P is her sister’s neuro and Jill’s family adores him. Anyway, we described the episodes in full detail: stares into space, unresponsive to her name or loud noises, sometimes blinks but never moves, comes out of them as if nothing has happened and they last about 10-20 seconds. A few in-office tests were performed by Dr. P then he suggested we get an EEG (brain scan) to verify if it truly is epilepsy.

But there’s a catch. Fifty percent of patients with epilepsy have normal EEGs. What Dr. P suggested was for us to do a pinch test on Laney. Next time we see her in one of these episodes we gently pinch her. If she doesn’t react, then it is a seizure (because he said a lot of children are very good at tuning out their parents!). He wants us to do something to her that would cause a reaction. I mentioned the frosting my mom put on Laney’s lips without even a blink of her eyes. He nodded and agreed that was a big one; most kids will react to sugar.

So we have a game plan: this Friday Laney is going to have an EEG during her nap time. Dr. P said the brain is most active while sleeping and gives the best results for the scan. He also mentioned that most seizures happen while the patient is tired. This makes sense, as we have seen a lot of them right before naps and right before bedtime.

We’ll see what comes next. If Laney truly is having seizures there are several very safe & effective medications that will reduce/eliminate the seizures. Breaks my heart that a two year old may have to be on serious medication. But on the flip side of that coin, there’s a treatment. That works. And this is something children grow out of. However, if left untreated, the seizures can become more frequent and possibly worse.

My perspective on everything we’re going through is becoming more in check as the days go by. At first I was scared. Then sad. Then thankful. Thankful for Kay’s training in this specific field to be able to recognize it. Thankful for close friends and family that love our girls enough to tell us that they, too, have witnessed this behavior in Laney. Thankful for the phone calls, emails and texts supporting us. And most important, thankful this may only be epilepsy. It’s not life threatening. It’s treatable. It doesn’t last forever. It causes no pain.

Laney may be zoning out. But she is still here. Our Laney Bug is full of life and spunk and cuddles.

A weekend of firsts...

After ballet ended last June, we decided to take a break from scheduled activities for a while. We swam all summer and then the holidays rolled around and before I knew it I had forgotten to sign Izzy back up in anything. Izzy asked to try gymnastics again so I looked into going to a new gym. After researching a bit, I decided on a place that focused on skills and tricks instead of playtime for kids that stayed home all day. The moment I walked into the new gym I knew it was the right place to be. Izzy's new class is for 4 & 5 year olds and she was a bit intimidated by the older (taller) kids and the new teacher and environment. But after 5-10 minutes of being shy, Iz warmed up and started learning some very new skills (back bends, backward rolls, head stands and even hand stands). I was enamored by the caliber of gymnasts at this new gym, as I witnessed 5 year olds doing some tricks that I couldn't do until I was 10, and then teenagers doing what I see at the Olympics. And then I remembered why I chose the place...this gym churns out collegiate athletes by the dozens and even sends kids to the Olympics. It's not only fun to watch my little girl learn some basic tumbling skills, it's a blast to watch all the other talented little people. I have a feeling we're going to have fun here (as long as this lasts until Iz wants to go back to ballet!).

Back bends (and even a walk-over)

Forward rolls and balance beams

Another first, this weekend was the Carmel Runners Club inaugural Saturday run. I helped sign in the almost 100 members and then we took some photos for the local paper then were off on our run. The Carmel Marathon is about 15 weeks away and we have training programs for both the full and the half. I'm only running the half, so my mileage was 4 miles. Was fun to meet new people and run on a beautifully mild January morning. I missed running with my regular girls, but I was able to spend time with them later in the day.

Signing in a new member and smiling for the newspaper

Yet another new adventure I had this past weekend was going out with all my favorite running girls in the evening (as opposed to the 6am long runs on Saturday mornings dressed in spandex and visors). We have been planning this night for months and every single one of us were as giddy as school girls awaiting the coveted January 7th evening.

(You can see I also did something else for the first time this weekend; I went dark with my hair. REAL dark. I'd been thinking about doing this for several months and finally pulled the trigger. Also got my eyebrows darkened, another first. I was super nervous about seeing the end results but am happy to say I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I came home and Mike said I need a new name as I look so different! That's what I was going for: drastic.)

We headed down to Bro.adripple to have drinks and a gift exchange at Karen's, exchanging some of our "favorite things," Oprah style.

And then we took a bunch of silly pics that cracked us all up. Was so fun to pretend we were models in front of a fancy camera spitting off flashes like we were on the runway. Great start to a fun night out.

We had dinner at U.sual Suspects and spent several hours there singing, laughing, crying and sharing. My table talked endlessly about how fiercely protective we are of our girls' running group. We want to know who you are and what your story is to determine if we're going to let yo into our inner circle. Rather, let you into our hearts. We hold our little group sacred, as we've seen each other at the lowest of our lows and the highest of our highs. You can't find bonds like this just anywhere. That's why we covet what we have. What we share. What we love. Each other.

To get the full run-down of the night's events, check out Bri's recap and Meggie's recap.

We toasted to all that we accomplished in 2011 and what we have to look forward to in 2012. We danced the night away; sang into large fans to cool off; laughed till we peed (maybe that was just me). We may not all come from the same walks of life and to some we may be a group of mis-matched girls. But to us, we are the perfect storm. The perfect culmination of woman that share a passion for running, but also women that share a passion for bonding. Making connections in the most unassuming of places. We, my friends, are the Perfect Strangers. And I adore what we've built and will cherish all the dance parties and miles along the Mon.on to come.