Izzy turned 4...

Little Miss Iz turned 4 last Friday and she had quite the princess-themed week of birthday celebrations! We now are the proud owners of every single D.isney princess costume. And matching shoes. And crowns. And jewelry. And doll. Oh my does our play room now resemble a dressing room! Had to get rid of some toys to make room for all the dress-up! All girl. All the time.

Grandma Laura & Bobo stopped in town for a birthday celebration of (princess) cake and Cinderella presents.

Mike & I got Izzy a (princess) bike complete with training wheels

She's still learning how to pedal...that darn back-pedal break gets her every time!

Annual birthday shirts...complete with crowns, of course

So excited to put up 4 fingers now instead of 3

We started off the birthday morning with a trip to the Pediatrician (I'm such a mean mommy). This visit was so very different from previous visits: show me hopping on one foot, draw a circle for me, how high can you count, do you look both ways when crossing the street, etc. I was just choked up throughout Izzy's check-up seeing how proud she was to show our favorite pediatrician how big she was. Here were her 4 year old stats:

Weight 30 lbs (10-25%)

Height 38 inches (10-25%)

Laney had her 2 year check-up and here are her stats:

Weight 25 lbs (25%)

Height 33 3/4 inches (50%)

Head 49 cm (75%)

Friday night Nanny Natalie stopped in with her parents to spend some time with the girls and celebrate Izzy's birthday. Was SO special to finally meet Mr. Dave & Granny Panties (Natalie's parents). The girls spent a lot of time with them this summer and grew to love them as if they were another set of grandparents. I now understand why they loved them so...they are some very special people. So happy to have all of the family in our lives. Also learned that Natalie will be able to nanny for us again next summer. Of course I cried and am over the moon. Natalie is like my little sister and the girls adore her. We are so, so lucky!

Saturday morning we had a birthday brunch for Izzy, complete with two large bounce houses in the backyard. Can you guess the theme? Duh!

Izzy's best bud Luke

And my best buds: Lori, Jill, Katie & Jaime

Completely off subject, but here's a pic of Jen, Jaime and I from Saturday night. We had so much fun in Chicago and laughed so hard...just love my girl time!

I Would Walk 500 Miles...

We did it. We pulled it off. After about 6 weeks of planning, Jaime and I surprised our running buddies at the Chicago Marathon. My voice is hoarse today to prove how much fun we had. And I'm pretty sure it's safe to say yesterday was one of my most favorite days ever. Believe it.

Jaime and I drove up to Chicago Saturday afternoon and stayed with my high school bestie Jen. We had a fabulously fun time Saturday night, hitting the sack at midnight (gasp!). Both Jaime and I woke before our alarm clocks on Sunday morning because we were so excited for the day to begin. To pull off an exciting surprise. We quickly got ready and headed out, parking just blocks from the race at a friend's house. Finding the course was easy. Waiting for the runners was not. Jaime and I wanted to get there in time to see the elite Kenyans run and we were successful in this (we literally got dizzy watching them run, as they were so fast). We also saw the wheelchair racers and were choked up watching their strength, their will, their truly incredible abilities.

What felt like hours went by before we started seeing non-elite runners. We positioned ourselves around mile 3 perched on top of a center/median landscaping wall so we were able to see both sides of the street and scan every face in hopes of seeing our girls. We did not travel all this way to miss them. Let's just say our anxiety was sky-high trying to find these girls. Purple shirt. Wh.eaties hat. Everyone starts to look the same. Oh no, did we miss them? I think we missed them. You looking on that side? I've got this side. I'm shaking. Wait! BRI! MEGGIE! CHRISTI!!! They scream. They jump. They cry. We saw them. We surprised them. We cry and embrace. So happy to see our girls running and happy. But we couldn't bask in this glory for too long, we had two more to find. Within 4 minutes we spotted Amy & Sarah. More shock. More kisses blown. Pure and utter relief and elation. Phew.

Jaim and I realized we needed to eat to fuel ourselves for the long day. We picked up food then walked a block to mile 12. Saw more elite runners (and Meggie's husband!) and began to start cheering for the runners instead of scanning like we did at mile 3. Name on your shirt? We yelled for you. Cute? We gave you a whoo hoo. Time ticked away. I was in communication with Meggies bff (who was also in on our surprise) the entire day...where did you see them and what time? Great, we're on track to see her. As my watched neared when they should approach mile 12 we stopped cheering so much and started scanning. Is that them? Did we miss them? I hope they keep running on the left side. Wait...CHRISTI, MEGGIE, BRI!!! More screaming. More I love you's. More cowbell. Or whatever. We were on top of the moon again, proud to have found them a 2nd time. Now for Sarah and Amy. About 10 minutes later we saw these two girls and they were bouncing up and down screaming (and wasting precious energy) when they saw us. Check and check.

Our next adventure (which we called this entire day, as it was the biggest scavenger hunt of our lives...next to Ragn.ar!) was getting to mile 20 to find the girls. We were at mile 12. Running wasn't an option for us (yet). We jumped on the red line. The trains were jam packed. Like sardines. And it was horrifying. We finally got off of that ride to jump onto the orange line. We made it to mile 20. Jaim and I stood post and started cheering on very tired, very ragged runners. We kept trying to recall what we'd want to hear at this point if we were running. Keep it up! Great job! You've come so far, you're almost there! We're so proud of you! You're running a marathon!!! There were no words for some. We just kept hoping we would see our girls. Wait...CHRISTI!!! Christi is an emotional runner. Jaim and I are emotional too. We jump in with her and we all kind of choke up. And then quickly turn to the important topics: how do you feel? What's your pace? Where are the other girls? We ran with Christi for 1 mile through Chinatown. Then left her to finish her marathon where she'd score herself a new PR.

After leaving her we turned back and started walking and scanning the crowd. BRI!!! She was a minute behind Christi and happy. Chipper. Amazingly upbeat for her first marathon. No pains but a few blisters. Girl was rocking it and clearly didn't need us. After a mile with her I received a text from Meggie's bff that she was at mile 21 and hurting. Time to leave Bri.

Jaime and I turn back and start looking for Meggie. Faces now were of that of desperation. It was completely devastating to see some of these runners in this condition. Which made finding Meggie even more important to us. Five minutes pass and we see Meggie. She is looking tired but in typical Meggie form, she sported a smile. We walked. She described her aches and pains. Jaim and I told her how much of a rockstar she was for making it as far as she had injured and untrained for 4 weeks. Um, not just anyone can whip out a marathon under just one of those conditions and she was kicking it's butt. We started running, only to stop for liquids and ice ("You know where I like it"). Meggie was keeping a great pace and did minimal walking. I kept telling her how incredible she was...and how at that point in my marathon last year I was doing a LOT of walking. She truly was rocking it. We ran with Meggie from 22 to 25 and did some dancing and game playing to pass the time (awesomely cool names of kids born in the 70's...Misty and Pam are great ones!). Right before we left Meggie at mile 25 we saw Amy pass us. AMY!!! She was smiling. And happy. And sped off to finish her first marathon. We smooched Meg goodbye and wished her well.

Now that we had run several of our friends in, Jaime and I had to get back to our car. On the map I thought it was 2ish miles. Turns out it was more like 4-5. We ran the entire way. On empty bellies. And drained energy. But we made it. And were relieved to be heading home. The day was emotionally and physically draining (and we didn't even run the marathon!). We were so proud of our girls and that we were able to support them. It was an incredible day. One I will never forget.

Jaime and I at mile 3, long before the race ever started

Second group of elite Kenyans...running so fast their feet were blurry!

Seeing Bri and Christi at mile 12

Meg & Jaim around mile 23

Last few miles on Michigan Avenue

Seeing Amy around mile 25

I am so happy to be a part of these womens' lives. Running together. Bonding together. Making memories together. And I strongly believe that training for a marathon with friends is 110 times easier than training alone. If you are a beginner running or a runner looking for a group to train with, I urge you to seek a group out or come run with us. We won't disappoint. The amount of strength, will, determination and stamina these women have will motivate you to kick some serious marathon butt.

And also, if you have never been a spectator at a marathon? Do it. It will move you witnessing the heart in these runners. If you're looking for a race to come spectate at...our next marathon is in just 26 days here in Indy. Would love to see you there. And a poster idea to bring? "This marathon is your b*tch!" One of my all time faves from yesterday's marathon.

Here's to walking (or running) 500 miles for your best friends.

Twenty Miles & Day Drinking...

 Saturday morning Jaime and I met at 5am (which meant for a 4 o'clock-ish wake up time, not fun) to run 20 miles. We had headlamps, gloves (it was 41 degrees), hats/ear warmers, fuel and M.ace. Oh, and our blue crew attire (this week's theme was Colts). All in all, we were ready. Purposefully we saved up many stories from the last few weeks to fill the 3+ hours we'd be running together. We ran in the dark for 2.5 hours of our 3.5 hour run...not the most fun but it's the sacrifice we make in order to keep our long runs in and still have quality family time on the weekends. We run to stay sane and without these runs I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be pretty. Our husbands can attest to that, I'm sure.

One hour into the run and 6 miles later, we picked up Amy along the trail. Still dark. Still cold. But it was refreshing to have a warm body join us for fresh conversation and renewed energy. Amy is running Chicago next weekend and only had 8 tapered miles; she was thrilled to not have to wear a fuel belt for the first time in months! We talked about her excitement to run her first marathon and her taper madness she's going through. We ran three-wide on a dark and empty trail and I loved our chatter and pace.

Thirty minutes and 3 miles later we picked up Christi, Karen and Meghan in Bro.adripple. After a quick McD's pit stop for the potty, water and hand blowers to warm us up we were off. Initially we ran two by two, three deep and once it got light out we ran three wide and I was wishing I had a camera to capture the fall leaves and my good friends doing what I love. The girls then brought up the recent passing of Mono.n Bob...conversation quickly became an homage to him by sharing fond memories. Our tears turned into laughter when we decided the COG we see each week running with his jeans pulled chest high should be groomed to take over where MB left off. No more than 2 miles later we saw the COG and we hollered our hellos. We love him and we want him to know it. Heart. Melts.

We hugged Amy & Christi and then Meghan & Karen goodbye, wishing everyone luck. Then it was back to Jaime and I for the final 2 miles. Alone. Heavy legs. Counting down the quarter miles, then the tenth miles until we reached our finish. I would liken my last mile to a 20-mile-shuffle, barely making forward progress. My mood brightened when Jaime recalled how we used to sprint the last quarter mile or so during half marathon training. I smiled. Then groaned. There was no sprint left in me. I'm truly hoping we have some friends out there that can run with Jaime and I for miles 20-25, when we need support the most. So if there are any takers out there...consider this my begging. We'll buy you a drink at the finish. Because the Perfect Strangers will be doing some serious day drinking after we finish in just 5 short weeks.

Speaking of day drinking...Mike and I left two napping girls with our gracious neighbors so we could partake in a little day drinking at the Rat.hskellar for Ale Yeah. We ran into many friends (including fellow Perfect Stranger runner Meghan who was a generous beer pourer!) and enjoyed several hours of drinking in the sunny beer garden.

 Me with BoMFers Beth & Lindsey

This rainbow was in our backyard and I've never seen a more perfect rainbow in my life. The girls got a kick out of it.

Just one more week until Izzy's birthday and a super secret trip with a super bestie. Stay tuned!

Now that's cookin'...

I have gone back to previous posts in the past to edit misspelling (I spelled this word incorrectly the first time, good old spell check saved me again!) or grammar and will more than likely do it again. However. This time my mistake warrants a full posting. You see, I write my family's blog. And my listening skills are lackluster. So when I'm trying to update about something I heard...it may get mixed up. And boy did it ever get mixed incorrectly.

Last week I posted that Mike ran a 5k in 27 minutes. Then said he was cookin'. Um, pretty sure 9 minute miles is not cooking and you guys thought, "Wow, your husband is slow!" I have to correct myself.

My husband, yes he ran in a 5k...but he finished in 21 minutes (that's just shy of a 7 minute mile). Now that's cookin'!

Sorry, babe. But I'm still proud of you!

(The pic above is from the 2005 Ch.icago Marathon that Mike finished in 3:55. I figure if I'm tooting his horn I better go all out.)

Leotards and Lazin' Around...

This week in my running schedule was a step-back week. Last week I ran a total of 44 miles and this week I only ran 28...and my body felt it. My Saturday morning long run was just 12, a far cry from last week's 22 miles.

I woke up ready to rock those 12 miles, excited to join my girlfriends on our themed run: the 80's. I don't own any neon, but I do own a leotard. If any of you remember my Jane Fonda Halloween 2010 you'll know why I try to find any excuse to wear this...I turn into Jane once the leo is on! I channel my mom doing the Jane Fonda workout on vinyl when I was a kid. Pretty awesome.

Where was I? Oh, I sported the leo over my running capris and top, wore a braided head band and matching wrist sweat bands. I thought I looked great. Until I got to the parking lot to meet a few gals and didn't want to get out of my car unless I saw them. That should have been my first clue that I over did it. I then saw Amy pull in and quickly got out of my car and ran to hers. She, too, sported a side pony and an awesome head band. We waited (what seemed like forever) for the gals running from Broa.dripple to make it to our mile marker. When we finally noticed the neon gang heading our way we jumped into the center of the trail and started cheering and doing our best get-in-shape-girl moves (you know you're a child of the 80's when you tromped around your house as a kid with those sweatbands while waving your rhythmic ribbon!). We took lots of pictures, including this one with our jazz hands (and a fan we found doing jazz hands):

 We all laughed at how ridiculous we looked yet how fun it was to have something to sidetrack our thoughts while running. Most of these gals are running Chicago in 2 weeks and are smack dab in the middle of tapering. My step-back week coincided with their mileage and so did my aching, awful run. Their tapering explains their ickiness. I had no excuse, which was frustrating especially after last week's amazing 22 miler.

Anyway, as the morning got brighter and brighter with the sun rising...so, too, did our looks and reactions from fellow trail runners. Some laughed, some gave dirty looks and some just smiled. At first it was funny...until we noticed a HOT guy running our way. I started to become slightly embarrassed of said leotard over my clothes. He smiled at me, which was nice. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't because I'm cute and more because I donned a side pony and blue eye shadow. Oh yeah, and a leotard on. Let's just say I started running behind the girls to get some coverage. I was never happier a run was over...partially because I had a lackluster run and mostly because I couldn't wait to get that sweaty leo off. Was definitely a run I won't forget anytime soon.

It's been pretty dreary here all weekend, Fall is so here. We spent a lot of time watching movies and playing in the yard:

 The girls playing the "popcorn" game on Sammy's trampoline:

 Spent the morning at the indoor pool. We had it to ourselves, which was great. But that also meant that the lifeguard had nothing to look at but us. And my top that Laney pulled down. That was fun.

It's candy corn and peanut time in our house. Which is basically the reason I spend so much money at the dentist each winter. It's so darn addicting, you should try it. Tastes like a Pa.yday candy bar.

Laney has been going potty on the big girl potty for a few weeks. That girl will do anything for an M&M. And her big sister's praise, "Laney, I'm so proud of you!"

Now that it's staying dark in the mornings longer the girls have started sleeping in later. I slept in until 7am this morning and I felt like it was noon! Hoping this lasts for a long, long time.

And finally, Mike ran in Indy's Cor.porate Challenge yesterday and his 5K time was 27:05. Um, that's less than a 7 minute split. Incredible!

Twenty two, a Birthday & Funsters in Cincy

Like most of my weekends, this one started with a long run with my girls (dubbed Perfect Strangers, or Pi Sigma on the Mon.on). This weekend was twenty miles...which equates into many hours running side by side. We have many stories, inside jokes and fun memories after spending so much time together and I couldn't imagine a long run without these women. To add a little fun to our runs we have started theming our runs (last week was American flags and this week was Survivor). You can read all about our run (details only fellow runners can appreciate) here.

I initially set out to do twenty miles but I ended up feeling so good that I ran two extra. Not for my body, but for my mind. The marathon is about 75% mind and 25% body, in my opinion. Mile 19 I felt so good that I wanted to open it up and sprint the last mile (I had no takers to join me). Instead, I decided to stick with Bri & Karen for 2 extra miles. As a runner, there are so many factors that go into having a good run: fuel, bowels, aching body parts, blisters, I could go on. Yesterday the science experiment I call running was spot on. I was feeling the ultimate runner's high. If I feel that good at mile 20 come race day I will be one happy mama.

 Dressed in black with camo headbands. We were proud. And excited to start our adventure. We did learn the Mo.non goes all the way up to Hwy 32. That's darn near Michigan. Just sayin'. Where the trail turns into gravel. And twists and turns. Who knew?

 Came home to quickly get ready and head across the street for a 4th birthday party...

 ...for this little guy:

 The pony rides were a big hit

 And so was the face painting

 After blowing out candles and devouring cupcakes, we packed the car and took off for Cincy. For a Funster weekend. With kids. Brandi & Brian were gracious enough to open up their home to all of us and we took over their house from the get-go. Here the kiddos were watching a movie:

 If any of you have spent time with Laney Bug you know she adores her baby dolls. There were two babies (Ava & Neve) and Laney couldn't keep her hands and eyes off of them. She wanted to hold them, feed them, cover them with her lovies...oh it was precious.

 After the kiddos went to sleep we enjoyed a delicious meal, lots of beverages and some seriously deep conversations with good friends. We decided it was the perfect Funster culmination, as we didn't have to hire babysitters or keep a sober driver. It was so much fun and we should definitely make a family overnight an annual Funster event.

Of course with all of us together it just wouldn't be complete without some crazy stories (which are now piling up and more laughable each time we recount them). Looking forward to our next event to keep building fun memories.

Backyard Again, Perfect Strangers and a new Toy Store in Town...

The weather has changed here in the last week. Weather in the 50's and 60's. Abnormal for this time of year in Indiana, but a welcome reprieve from the 100 degree temps of late. With the change in season has come a change in outdoor activities; no more pool time yet more backyard play time. We've found ourselves on the playset or across the street bouncing almost every night. And the girls love it.

 We have a tree swing that the bigs are only now strong enough to swing on

 Saturday I rose early to meet a group of four women (we dub ourselves the Perfect Strangers) to run 18 miles. We dedicated our run in remembrance of 9/11 and wore flags on our chests (and in our pony tails):

 I believe there are a total of about 10 of us in our running group and this particular morning 6 of us ran. We are all training for either the Chicago Marath.on or the Mon.umental Marathon here in Indy. It's the tail end of training for the Chicagoans and the mid-way point for us Monumentalists. Yet somehow our training plans have started to collide and we're at the same mileage. Next week every single one of us will be running 20 miles. Together. And I never believe I'd utter these words about running 20 miles, but I cannot wait. I'm serious, if you are thinking about training for a marathon, you MUST join a running group or club (if you are a woman, we'd love to have you join us!). Makes the miles so much easier and tolerable. We share some pretty intimate stories and also share in our aches and pains. I've grown to lean on and love these women more than I could imagine.

After a quick shower Mike and I packed the girls up to head on over to a new Toy Store in town called My Toy Garden that one of his clients has been working hard to open. We ran into several friends and even met some new ones in the beautifully creative store. We spent over an hour playing, exploring and watching magic...

 Can you guess what kind of magic we witnessed?

 This man arrived and wooed every little (and big) kid in the store with his balloon magic

 Izzy asked for a flower

 Mike and Jason have continued to brew their own beer all summer long. Their current batches include a Phat Tire and an Octo.berfest. Both are delicious (and potent!). However, now they've upped the ante to creating whiskey. Yikes. They scored a large bag of corn from a friend up north and it's been sitting in a burlap bag inside of a plastic tub for several weeks. Stinky. The stink meant it was time to shed the corn kernels of their newly sprouted roots and add yeast to create a "sour mash." Sour indeed. While the boys were elbow-deep in said mash, the kiddos played outside. Only coming in for snacks. Here are Ben, Iz and Elaina:

Unfortunately our Col.ts lost today. But fortunately for me, game time meant Mike and Iz went to Jason's house for 3 hours while Laney napped and mommy read. Perfect, relaxing Sunday! As I write the temps are back into the 70's and beautiful. Guess all that closet-switch-out work I did last week was fruitless. Need to find all those stowed away shorts and tees. Whoops!