Halloween with a Princess & a Mouse...

 We started Halloween evening off this year at our neighbors' house with some delicious corn chowder. The kids were chomping at the bit to trick or treat so we quickly packed it up and moved it on out to the streets of Cool Creek. Izzy was Cinderella, Laney was Minnie Mouse and Sam was Batman.

 As soon as we said the word, the kiddos took off down the street...

 This year was a lot of fun, as it was Laney's first time trick or treating independently. She didn't need our help getting from house to house. And she left every single house telling us, "Look how many trick or treats I have in my bucket mommy!" She was thrilled to be out there among the big kids, scoring herself some loot.

 Here's how we roll...wagon full of coolers :)

 So excited...

 Batman!

When we got home both girls immediately dumped their pumpkins and went through their candy sheer excitement. Reminded me of when my sister and I would come home and comb through our treats, sort them, and then trade. I think this innate to all children, right?

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Where I belong...

Before I started running seriously back in 1999 I didn't even know what the word taper meant. Now as a seasoned veteran of the sport it is a word I use quite often. Sometimes tapering is highly anticipated, "I can't wait to have a long run less than 20 miles!" And sometimes tapering is dreaded, "My body just wants to GO but my training schedule says to rest." or "How can I run 26.2 miles if I'm resting and not putting in miles?!"

I am now on my 18th week of marathon training, with my 2nd marathon just 4 short days away. This is my third week of tapering. And just today I started to panic. See, I've been sick. And I can't seem to fight whatever it is I have. So that's part of my panic. The other part is simply the mind games that tapering gives us runners. Gotta love that. Going to try some visualization tonight. Have to get my mind where it needs to be. Calm. Confident. Secure in the fact that I have trained much harder this year than last and am better prepared. Last year I only ran 20 miles one time. This year I've run 22 once and 20 twice. I'm more than ready.

Remember my taper post last year? I'm super nostalgic about my journey once again. Last year it was about me. Could I do it alone....as I trained alone. This year it's different. This year it's about friendship...as I trained with many girlfriends. And a very best friend. I blogged last year about how she and I both ran our first marathons alone, even though we wanted (and needed) the other by our side. This year the stars aligned (and our husbands reluctantly gave us the go-ahead) and we are going to be running the same marathon this year. Together.

Jaime and I have made a pact to stay together no matter what. Time isn't a goal. We're not trying to qualify for anything. When I expressed my nerves to Jaim this afternoon she said this, "We’ll do it. Promise. We just have to pace ourselves. We are not competing to win. We are competing for a prize for ourselves to show off how strong our bodies are. Whether we run it in 3 hours or 13 hours, we’re still running a marathon. I don’t care who you are, you can’t just go out and take on 26.2 without some serious training." And that, my friends, is the best thing anyone could have said to me in this taper madness I'm knee deep in right now.

I have a ton of other friends running it, too: Bac.k On My Feet buddies, Perfect Stranger buddies, and Ragnar Relay buddies. It's a local race and I'm excited to see familiar faces along the course (I've commissioned every person I know in a 20 mile radius to come out and cheer us on, nudge nudge).

This will most likely be my last marathon for a while. The training takes up a very large chunk of time and I'm realizing I need to shift my energy and focus on my family. My girls will only be 4 and 2 for a short time. My husband has been great; he's put up with me to going to bed at 9pm only to wake at 4:30am to get in a long run, taking the girls to and from school every day, making smoothies for the girls every Saturday morning when I'm out running, the list goes on. I couldn't train for a marathon without his support. However, it's time for me to find better balance.

Trust me, this is not the end of my running. I will still race. All year long. Just not 26.2 miles. Half marathons are still fun and challenging...so maybe I'll just stick with those. Running is a part of me and always will be. It's where I relax, where I sort my thoughts, where I belong.

In the meantime, I'll be focusing on kicking this marathon's butt on Saturday.

Halloween Party for the Bigs

This was our second year of going to the most epic Halloween party we've ever. I've been asked to explain why it's so amazing and I just can't put it into words accurately enough to give it justice. Massive house, several different bars (with hired tenders), dining room full of food, decorations to the nines, "Shot Wheel of Misfortune", surround sound music piped into every room, living room furniture moved out, light show moved in and the best part...a custom pole installed smack dab in the middle of it all. Epic.

You may remember my most favorite Halloween costume ever from last year. I had ever intention to wear that leotard again this year, as it transforms me into a different persona. But my husband and our neighbors wanted to do a group costume. So the leotard is waiting in my drawer for next year. Sigh. Instead, we chose to go as the Fresh B.eat Band. Don't know who that is? That's ok...you really should only know them if you have pre-school aged children. It's a group that teaches children about music, rhythm, beats and dance. It's truly one of the more tolerable shows we watch (and I know all the words to their songs and much of their dance moves). So we did it. We scavenged Goo.dwills to find the silly little details and donned our best Fre.sh Beats:

 Mike's character plays the keyboard. We don't have one. So the accordion had to make due.

 With Maggie (a Katy P.erry groupie, her best friend went as KP) and Sarah (Amy Wi.nehouse)

Of course I danced my toosh off. For 3 hours. Took several turns on the pole (have a few bruises on my legs from this). Those drumsticks transformed me even though I didn't have my coveted leotard on. I made some fun new friends. Reminisced with friends from last year ("Are you Jane Fonda?!" Um, yeah, and I wanted to be her AGAIN!). And can't wait for next year.

Pumpkin Festival Fun

 Saturday morning we loaded up the car and headed to the Zi.onsville Pumpkin Fe.stival. We had heard it was well worth the trip (and the $8/person admission!) and it surely did not disappoint. I mean, anyplace that serves fresh cinnamon donuts is tops in my book.

 We explored the many bins of pumpkins and gourds...

 Took a hayride around the acres...

 Went down the super fast slides...

 Took a ride on the "Moo Choo"...

 Went back for seconds on the slide...

 Took a few laps on a pony...

 Posed in super funky, festive mural...

 Hopped along a large row of some seriously large pumpkins...

 Took a long walk through the (pumpkin-shaped) corn maze (take note Laney's enjoyment!)...

 Posed for a Prom picture with a buddy...

 And another buddy...

 We spent about 3 hours at the festival and enjoyed a beautiful day. Laney took a 4 hour nap while Izzy headed out to her first "drop off" birthday party. Big time. She came home with a professional face painting that was just beautiful:

 Thursday night the girls' school hosted a Halloween party. Laney dressed as Minne Mouse (I donned the ears). And this picture shows how tired she was...which is always a fun time.

 Here are a few of Izzy's buddies at school. Iz dressed as Snow White...and it looked too cute on her! After all, she is a princess.

We're gearing up for a big Halloween weekend: adult party for the Bigs and trick-or-treating for the Littles. Candy has been bought. Much has already been eaten. And I'm proud to say I've only gone through one bag of candy corn this month. So what if it was the value size? It was still just one bag. Bring on the buckets filled with candy!

Marathon Relay 2011

Today I ran in Back on My Feet's 42k Marathon Relay downtown Indy on the White River. Teams of 2, 3, or 4 people could run a total of 26.2 miles on a 2.2 mile loop along the river. The day started off verrry chilly but warmed up throughout the morning. Here are Jaime and I with Betsy (Jaim's sister) trying to keep warm:

 Mike and I were on a two person team and each ran a total of 13 miles. He'd run a loop, tag me, I'd run a loop, tag him, repeat. The 26 miles went by FAST when you only have 15 minutes to recover until you have to run again. Our team name was the McMarathoners and we wore Greek laurel wreaths on our head and kilts around our waists. Was fun dressing up and even more fun seeing my husband running in the kilt!

Our marathon time was around 3:32...a time neither Mike nor myself could attain on our own. Our team pace was right at an 8:00 minute mile; Mike's average pace was 7:48 and mine was 8:35. Very proud of us, that's for sure. We came home and took 2 hour naps and are now self medicating our sore legs. Ha!

 Jaime's team kicked butt, too!

 Lindsey & Beth, who organized the entire event and did an amazing job, as we all had such a fun day!

 Kerri (friend from work and fellow 12 Tutu teammate from Ragnar this summer)

 A few Perfect Strangers also had their own teams...Bri and Meggie. Loved having them there. I even got to run lap #2 with Meggie! Speaking of which, I named each lap (as Meg has mentioned that helps the miles go by more quickly). Lap #1 was Bestie lap as I ran with Jaim. We talked about our running plans for the future and how our families are so much affected by our training. Lap #2 was New Friend lap as I met another mom that held my same pace (8:15, my fastest loop!). Corey and I talked about training with little kids and being creative about when we get our runs in while juggling family and jobs. Lap #3 was Perfect Stranger lap as I ran with Meggie. We talked about her time off from running due to an injury and then her game plan for spectating in 2 weeks at our marathon. Lap #4 was Lonely Lap as I ran alone. As I finish this lap my friends James and John (fellow BoMFers I run with every Wednesday morning) embraced me and I wept in their arms. I was getting tired and had just come off of a lonely lap. Lap #5 was John Take The Wheel lap. Previously mentioned friend who just hugged me and gave me a pep talk caught up to me on this lap and gave me the motivation to get through the painful miles. I freaking adore the guys I run with and LOVE that they are now pushing ME to go faster and be stronger. Lap #6 was The Heat Is On lap as it warmed up and I was re-energized to finish my final lap. My gloves came off and I gave those last few miles all I had. Finishing with friends cheering me on was the BEST. In fact, the 2 mile loop relay was just a perfect idea. Each lap you could come back to your home base and be cheered on by friends. Love, love, loved it.

 My buddies James & John

 Our team name strewn across our bums

 We're done! Let's just say Mike's kilt came off as soon as we got back to our chairs. He was such a trooper, dressing up for our team's sake. In a skirt. In public. He got a lot of attention :)

We did it! So looking forward to our marathon in 2 weeks, this trio will be running 26.2 miles together!

Sick, sick, sick...

Yep, you read that right: three sicks. It's been a sad state of affairs around our house for more than a week. It started two weeks ago when Izzy started getting sick with a cough. Then fever. Then worse cough. She was put on antibiotics for an ear infection. Then the weekend of Izzy's birthday Laney started feeling crummy. Same story...cough, fever, irritable. Turns out they both had a form of croup. That was fun. Then early last week I started getting a sore throat, cough, head pressure.

Took the entire week off from running to let the cold run through my system. Told myself I'd attempt my last (of 3) 20 miler Saturday morning with Jaime. I should have stayed in bed. I thought I would be fine, as I had no congestion in my chest or sinuses. I could breathe (although I could barely talk, my voice was so raspy Jaime said I sounded like a 3-pack-a-day smoker!). If I could breathe I could run. Um, not so much. Jaime and I got half way through our run and we were both miserable. My calf was shooting with pain, her hip was grinding, my head was fuzzy and I felt like I was in a haze, her knee was shooting with pain. We did a lot of walk/running those last 5 miles. I don't remember much from the run, but I do remember at one point Jaime looking at me and saying, "Do NOT blog about this!" But I had to...I have to remember the pain and the suffering we go through to cross that finish line. The end wouldn't be as sweet if it was easy.

I went home to a shower, a quick birthday party for Izzy's buddy, and then jammies for the rest of the day. I was spent. Woke Sunday morning and counted the hours until the clinic opened. My voice was now so deep and so raspy that I couldn't talk any longer. The amazing, incredible, prompt nurse saw me (I was the first in line) and diagnosed me with a double ear infection. Guess that explains why I felt off kilter the last 10 miles of my run the day before...my equilibrium was off! A large dose of antibiotics later...I started feeling relief in the first 24 hours. Amen.

Since I started to feel somewhat better, we ventured out to a park for an hour to get some much needed fresh air.

  Miss Priss is always posing

 And Bug...always smiling

 Everyone loved the park, even daddy Mike

 Lots of climbing

 Jill sent me this adorable picture of Bug and Sammy. This was the day of Izzy's birthday brunch and Laney was feeling horrible. She wouldn't let me put her down. But just once she crawled out of my arms and into Sammy's. These two...they are thick as thieves. Melts my heart...

Here's to healthier days ahead. And three weeks of tapering before my marathon!

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!