Mini Marathon 2011

This was my 10th year involved in the I.ndianapolis M.ini M.arathon (but really one year Jaime wore my tag for me so I could be seeded the next year, but I'm going to chalk it up to a round 10 years). Been training for 12 weeks. My longest run was 12 miles. My goal was sub 2:00 hours, as last year I finished just shy of 1:55. I have NO idea how I ran so fast last year (fast for me at least) because this year I trained almost the same way and finished in 2:00. And it hurt. I remember it hurting last year, but I feel like this hurt more...and I ran 5 minutes slower. Boo. The good news is that I was able to run this race with my bestie Jaime for the first time since a half marathon in November of 2008. I could only stay with her until mile 10 and I had to let her go. She did amazing and gained a PR for herself.

 Before the race (the guys we run with every week for Back On My Feet get Jaime and I confused all the time...why do you think that's so?!?!?)

After the race

The weather was a perfect 60 degrees at the start. Around mile 6 (on the track) I could feel the temperature dropping and the clouds rolling in. The rain held off until I finished. Then a downpour ensued. Then blue skies and SUN. Was perfect for some post race drinks in the beer garden. Mikey finished in 1:41 and is paying for it today! Glad this is over because now the FUN begins...our 200 mile relay is in 5 weeks from Madison to Chicago and I cannot WAIT for a fun girls' weekend away!!!

April Showers Bring May Flowers...

It's been raining here for what seems like weeks on end. We've had glimmers of sun here and there, only a brief reprieve until the next big storms come through. This means lots of indoor play time and creative ways to spend our time. Dress up is Izzy's favorite activity these days, and really all things princesses. She loves Ba.rbie and all the Di.sney princesses and will tell you every chance she gets that she is a princess. Yes, dear, we know.

 And in between tea parties and dance parties, we are a whole lot of silly!

 Just another day in Mike's life: dressing up with a tutu on his head while researching the best grocery prices in town

 Friday I had the day off and sent the girls to school so I could get errands done and my carpets steamed. When I picked the girls up we headed right for the park for some play time before ballet.

 Saturday morning we hit up the library and ballet...and after naps the Feller fam came over for some play time.

 I have never held two 20+ lb bambinos in my arms at the same time and it was difficult. I swear to you my right are (bicep and forearm) is sore today. And I think I held them for a total of 60 seconds. Yikes.

 With our relay run coming up in 5 weeks, a few of the team members came over to make our tutus (as our team name is 12 Tutus & 24 Tatas...it's only fitting). Mine is yellow and black as my fave color is yellow and I'm intending to use this for a Halloween costume. If you'll be spending time with me on Halloween this year, I promise I'll Fe.breeze the heck out of the tutu before wearing it to the party. I just need a good excuse to wear my Jane Fo.nda-esque leotard again and this is the perfect excuse :)

 Jaime is making a pink tutu in honor of her cousin who was just diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer.

 And my friend, Karie (Gooding) Teany, is also running on our team. I have known Karie since maybe 4th grade and haven't seen her since high school circa 1995. She lives 30 minutes away and we reconnected via FB a few years ago. I knew she was a runner and has been involved in both the Mini and Chicago over the years...so I had to invite her. What better way to reconnect, right? Was so wonderful to see her after all these years!

 And today started off very rainy (shocker!) so the girls and I took off for breakfast, errands and meeting our best gal Molly at the book store to play. We left Mike at home, as he spent all day Saturday and Sunday reorganizing our garage. He got the bug after we completely gutted and organized our basement a few weeks ago. This time he took everything out of the garage and slowly organized every little thing back into storage bins, shelving units and wall hooks. It looks incredible. I think he gets this bug every year and it just feels so good to have that space de-cluttered!

 The girls (briefly) watched their daddy in the garage and stood there dancing and singing songs to him while he worked. They both will start singing (their own made-up songs) and be so serious and into their words and voices, it's just hilarious to sit back and listen to. Mike and I just crack up at them sometimes because they try to out-sing the other.



And finally, we had some neighbors stop by this afternoon selling little flowers that they grew in their greenhouse as a way to make money (they are 8 and 11 years old and have been doing this for 3 years - quite the entrepreneurs!). They offered 8 different varieties, $10 for a dozen. I can't remember the name of what we bought but the picture showed them as bright pink. Izzy and I planted them in two large pots on our back deck. With all this rain they should pop up quickly to brighten up our backyard. Here's to hoping for some sun in the next week!

Hoppy Easter...

This week was a bit lackluster in the McCulloch house. Nothing truly noteworthy to report. Laney is now staying up as late as her big sister, so that's a transition in our house. Bug used to go down at 6:30 every night. I think she just recently discovered everyone else is still awake and she's sleeping. So we're now a family that has a bedtime routine that doubled. One girl on the potty while the other is brushing. And switch. We read bedtime stories in Izzy's bed and then they go in their separate beds (Laney's crib is going to be taken down...soon). Crazy that this new routine is making me realize I no longer have a baby. Bug is 20 months. Where has the time gone?

Mike and Jason unveiled their first home brew this week, an Irish Stout. It is delish. He has brought a few bottles with him to dinner on Friday and then to his dad's on Saturday. He's very proud of his creation and I have to admit, I am too. Cheers!

 We had dinner on Friday night with the Falciones. It had been a few months and we needed to catch up. It's amazing that they only live a mile away and yet we don't see them but every other month! Good friends can pick right up where they left off...and we did just that. I'm sorry to say I didn't get a good pic of the kiddos together; they were running all over the place and it was hard to capture the moment.

 Katie made a delicious spread...

...and these cake balls were to. Die. For. Lemon, Devil's Food, German Chocolate, Carmel, Mocha. Oh. My. Goodness. They were amazing. And quite beautiful, too.

After my Saturday morning run and Izzy's ballet class we headed up to the Fort again for a long-awaited family portrait. Bob & Laura celebrated their 10 year anniversary last Fall and we were supposed to have a family picture at Thanksgiving to commemorate; however, the photo was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. We rescheduled for yesterday. Photographing 15+ people was downright hilarious at times. If you don't believe me, check this out:

Even the photographer's face cracks me up. This was all the great grandchildren with Great Grandpa Cliff (and Laura holding up the girls behind-the-scenes!). There were bribes of cash and candy...and lots of funny faces and crazy noises coming from the people behind the camera!

 Aimee & 12 month old Maryn

Laura, Sister Sarah & Jake

 Mike with his home brew in one hand the champagne of beers in the other. Nothing but class.

 Aunt Susan with a sleeping Maryn

Laura took Izzy & 4 others to see HOP at the theaters while the rest of us hung out in the sun. Grandpa Bob got some serious snuggling in with Laney & Maryn:

Hope everyone has had a great Easter weekend!

Egg hunt, Vera sale & Bouncing birthday party...

We left town on Thursday after work heading north to the Fort. Laura and I wanted to hit up the annual Vera Br.adley outlet sale. Didn't take pictures this year; however, the crowds were more tame and the inventory was larger & deeper than last year. Got a lot of my xmas shopping done and we had a great time shopping.

After dinner out the grandparents hosted a little Easter egg hunt around the house for the girls (even though we'll be back next weekend they wanted a special hunt just for them - so sweet!).

 The girls were checking out their loot; Izzy would open the plastic eggs, dump the candy in her bucket, then place the empty egg into Laney's bucket. It was hilarious to watch unfold. Laney had no idea she was being robbed of her candy.

 Saturday morning we packed up early to head back to Indy for this:

 And we originally were going to go to Oscar's birthday party on Saturday; however, they delayed the party until Sunday due to cold and wet weather. Mike and I spent the entire afternoon and evening in the basement cleaning it out (the storage side). We made 3 piles: keep, toss, garage sale. My neighbor and I are looking to have a garage sale in the upcoming month or two and mama's ready to unload a LOT of kid toys and office supplies (both Mike and I used to work out of our house, so you can only imagine the fax machines, binder clips, et al we have waiting to get rid of). Feels GOOD to be so organized!

The girls couldn't wait to wake up this morning and go to Oscar's 5th birthday party. They did lots of this:

 And a little of this:

And when Izzy told Megan goodbye, she told her "This was the best day ever!" Every host should hear those words at the end of a party. And it was true, we all had a great time. We got to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, eat delicious food and bounce until it was naptime. Was a nice, long weekend. Now, back to the grind :)

AnyBUNNY ready for Easter?

This little girl is:

Izzy even came home with an Easter egg she dyed at school yesterday. She was so excited to eat it, until we reminded her it's an egg (which she does not care for). Izzy girl tired it. And remembered she didn't like it. Onto the next. Bring on the Easter candy!!!

Spring Cleaning

 It's Spring. I can feel it. I can smell it. I've worn summer dresses and flip flops this week. And sunglasses for about 5 straight days. Bring. It. On. We had zero plans over the weekend...so this gave us ample time to enjoy the weather. We rode bikes on Friday. We bounced on Saturday. We played for hours outside today. I'm ready for more weekends spent outside. Yes. Please.

 The Fellers stopped by on Saturday for an impromptu bounce date in the neighbors' yard. Luke has the drop-sit down pat.

 And Laney is becoming more and more comfortable jumping and being bounced around by the bigs.

 Sunday morning the girls and I went to the indoor pool for a few hours while Mikey got his long run in. Speaking of which, I was elated to be able to run in shorts on Saturday morning. To not have to wear tights, a jacket and gloves was more than welcome. My 12 miles felt really good...only thing that could have made it better was a partner :(

 Today we ate lunch outside and spent several hours in both our front and back yards. Also, Laney has gone potty almost all weekend on the big girl potty. On her own accord. Her prompting us. We are shocked and quite honestly pleasantly surprised. Had no idea this was in store for us. Yet another welcome surprise to top off the weekend.

 Mike and Jason were able to finally bottle their first batch of Irish Stout. They filtered it several times over the past few months. And now the beer just has to sit in the bottles and age until carbonation occurs (um, I have zero idea what the technical terms of all this is obv). After they bottled a few cases, they started brewing their next batch. They are even journaling the recipes and what they did so as to make the next batch even better. Love listening to them in the kitchen giggle while they are learning this process. I can tell they both really enjoy it.

So there you have it; a weekend filled with a lot of nothing. I did manage to perform my annual window-washing extravaganza (my least favorite household chore, but not behind cooking). Oh, how I loathe cleaning the windows (inside and out) and the dirty sills. I laid to rest more than several dozen of last season's lady bugs. Gross. Spring cleaning at its finest.