The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

Watercolor by Maddie Jane, 7. It's springtime in New England, which is really more like a holding pattern that I relate to my days working in the prison; when an inmate had a release day, but it could be held up by paperwork, or could actually happen and they could run out of the prison and dance in the parking lot. Well, that never happened (that I saw), but I would run outside and dance on the street if it happened to hit somewhere in the 50 to 60 degree range upon my waking up in the morning. All I could think about on the walk to drop Maddie off at school today is I just want my toes and/or my fingers to stop being cold. I love living here and would not trade a summer evening or fall day for the world...but I would definitely trade 32 degrees the week before April. While the new year is all about new year-new me and resolutions, I think it takes until spring for people to really start feeling like a new year is here, especially since spring tends to be synonymous with c...

In 19 days I will be almost halfway through my first Boston Marathon. Less than three weeks. One little 15 mile run and then very short runs. Lots of stretching and clamshells (the workout, not the mermaid accessory). Very little alcohol or fried foods. I ran 21.5 miles from Hopkinton to Boston College last Saturday (I wasn't sure if I wanted to do 21 or 22 so I compromised). I haven't run more than 19 miles since the last time I ran a marathon. As I pushed up and down and up and down those famous hills I crested towards the BC chapel and saw that beautiful skyline. The same one that I remember seeing on the airplane about a year after I moved to Boston. coming back from visiting my mom on the heels of my massive breakup, heartbreak and meltdown. That skyline that made me say to myself "home, THIS is what feels like home. MY Boston" for the first time. That skyline that I always love to see when we drive home from a visit to the Cape or Maine or anywhere outside o...

Things are not well. As a matter of fact, they are pretty unwell. Work. OH work. How does one maintain an open door policy when the need to shut the door and cry is so great? Something has to give, but it hasn't. Home. My home sweet home that I do love so much but the project list is not moving because it is a daily task just to keep it together with a very energetic toddler who cannot get out and run around and be a toddler. Our commute time home has doubled, even tripled, on most nights so we get home, get dinner and get to bed. The time we spent playing and coloring and getting a few things done is spent on the road staring at brake lights and snow banks as high as the eye can see. My me time. I see the runners on the Esplanade with their millions of layers and frozen tears and don't remember my own runs against snow drifts with chapped red legs and impossible miles ahead. I just miss it. I am so, so jealous. I want to get up and layer up and go for a run in this terri...

Even though this Christmas seemed to come and go at lightning speed, it was a really, really awesome one. At one point I was washing dishes and I thought to myself how awesome it was to be in our OWN home that we own forever and ever, celebrating Christmas with our little family. It was so comforting to know that next year we would be in this same home and have another little person to share in the magic of Christmas with! We didn't do anything over the top and the focus was more on Maddie than anything else, and it was perfect. She got lots of presents from all of our wonderful family and friends and seemed so truly thankful as she opened each one up. All she asked Santa for was a giraffe that was big enough to ride one, and when she walked into the living room Christmas morning to see just that I think her little heart soared right out of her chest. She turned to me and said "Mama, is that a giraffe? For me?"; it made my heart melt as I watched her hop on with her swe...

I can hardly believe that Christmas is just a week away! Life has been so very busy with the day-to-day but we are really trying to take some time everyday to enjoy the season and see the magic of it all through Maddie's eyes. It was a lot of fun to deck the halls of our new home and I am already excited to hit some of those post-Christmas sales to add to our arsenal for next year. Having such festive walls makes it pretty hard to forget that Christmas is coming, even when we are swimming in work, school and new baby preparations. I just wanted to pop in and share some pictures that I took the other night and wish you all a happy one week until Christmas! Our Christmas tree! We love getting Christmas cards! This year our hallways is a great place to display them.  The tattooed Nutcracker got extra tough with a Maker's Mark scarf this year.  Another gift from Maker's Mark; oh how I miss thee in my eggnog.  Maddie has her own tree in her room w...

THIS KID. My heart can't even take her some days. Hooray, we made it! This was not a short week for me, so I am a little extra excited over the impeding weekend since it seems like everyone else got to avoid their Monday this week. It was a good, productive week at work and at home and I am looking forward to some time to unwind from it all with my little family.  I am incredibly thrilled that we will finally be getting our washer and dryer situation taken care of this weekend. I know, life is full of exciting things for the O'Sheas right now and this ability to do laundry at home may just put me over the edge. New baby? New house? LAUNDRY?!  No but really, we have not been able to use our washer and dryer since we moved and had planned on getting someone to wire/plumb our basement to be able to use the machines we already had instead of buying a stacked unit for our small area inside the house, but decided to take the plunge and get the stackables, It would likel...

This past weekend we hosted a little "open house" to show off our new home and have an excuse to get our friends over and stuff them with food. The open house idea was awesome because people stopped in when they could and didn't feel obligated to be there at a certain time or stick around if they had other stuff to do; it also meant people were in and out all day and night, which was kind of great.  We have so many wonderful friends and getting to spend a little time with everyone and show them our home was so great. I am starting to realize that we have a lot of littles in our circle too because there was a constant flow of them too! Maddie had a blast showing her friends her room and doing "art crafts" with them. People brought over so much delicious food, lovely presents and sweet gifts for Maddie and we could not be more thankful! Our home feels so warmed and I already can't wait to host another get-together! Here are a few pictures from...

Don't pop the bubbly just yet, but the O'Sheas are this close to owning the condo that we have our heart set on, and although the road to home ownership is less yellow brick and more Lombard Street, we may be closing in just six weeks (!!!). We are stressed, exhausted, nervous, excited and anxious as hell, but if it all goes well and we make this house our home it will be ALL worth it.  Aside from the house itself, I am really excited for the neighborhood, which is known as Pope's Hill in Dorchester . The Dot and I have had some trials and tribulations over the last six months or so, but I am glad that we have decided to stay and have the opportunity to move into an area that is just nic er enough to make the bad feelings I had go away, but still connected. I am still fully committed to making all of Dorchester as awesome as it deserves to be, but I no longer feel like I am martyring myself or my family by living in the thick of a lot of the not-s...

Both of us were not feeling well and it was gross out, but Maddie was loving her little hot "coocoo". I have mentioned this before , but every winter I hit a wall where I absolutely, without argument know that I cannot even think about continuing on with any facet of my life and instead need to move somewhere warmer and start all over. It is usually quite dramatic, more often than not involves tears and is always in the presence of and somewhat directed at my dear husband.  Historically, I hit the wall around February; this year I claimed to have hit it back in January, but apparently that was nothing but a half wall or a pony wall or something because I really, truly hit THE wall yesterday. It was ugly. This week has seen a sick toddler, a sick (AGAIN) mama, continued cold temps, lots of to-do lists at work, very little sleep, too many bills owed and a lot of time needed that does not actually exist due to the ridiculous twenty four hours in a day rule.  So, o...

My favorite part of weekday mornings is my time spent with Madeleine before the hustle and bustle of our day begins. Usually I am up at 5(ish) and out the door for a run before she wakes up and back right when she is rousing. She is such a snugglebug in the mornings but as soon as her little feet hit the ground, she is off and running, usually until it's time for bed again. Focusing on her coloring. Lately she has been very into coloring, and I just adore watching her pick out different colors and create her little works of art. Sometimes she asks Mama to draw starts or hearts, and she's very into wanting people to draw the letter "A" for her over and over. I try to use this time just to sit and watch her, I drink my coffee and we chat about what she is going to do that day. A calm before the storm. These are the moments I savor, the ones that I reflect back on when life gets busy and I need a moment to breathe, relax and appreciate what I have. Thanks fo...

I used to loooooathe going to Home Depot, mostly because it meant that my parents were dragging me there before asking me to slave, er work with them all day doing some ridiculous project like staining the flipping porch, including the underneath where all the spiders lived, on a beautiful summer day when I would rather have been doing anything else at all. Anything. Home Depot mostly made me feel dread, all hardware stores did really, even if they happened to have the added perk of free popcorn or a hot dog cart because, let's face it, one hot dog ain't gonna erase an afternoon of being under the porch with a paintbrush and a black widow in your hair. But now....sorry if you think I am going to say how much I love Home Depot and that I decided to do the baby's room in a lovely bright orange and don't even mind that the Watertown store doesn't have a snack bar (because I do) but...I don't hate it! Last night I was even glad to be there, which was probably due t...

I am sitting at our new desk in our guest room of our new home. The desk faces the window that overlooks our new street; I see trees and the neighbors, the baby kittens that live next door and the lawn that someone mowed while we were at work yesterday. I see my husband working on his bike, involved in his work and never the wiser that I am admiring him from inside. I cannot wait to watch this man be a father to our baby, to celebrate being my husband for a year in September, and to spend the rest of my days loving him. He really is the most amazing dude ever, seriously. The baby is growing bigger and more livelier in my tummy. Matty can feel her kicks and stretches and somersaults. She still lets me eat spicy food and sleep comfortably, but my back and stomach are no longer options at this point. Next week will mark my third trimester. Next weekend my bestie will come up from NoHo and we will hang out and shop for girlie things together and gossip and laugh. We will be joined by other...

Tonight is officially my last night as an Allstonian. Or a Brightonian. I won't even live off the green line after I wake up tomorrow morning. No more 45 minute train rides that stop every block, no more "This train will run express to Packard's Corner". Tomorrow when I wake up I will pack the cat into his carrier, grab my purse and my husband will drive me and this baby in my belly to Dorchester, to our home, where we will have our first baby, our first wedding anniversary, where we will be "mom and dad" for the first time instead of just "husband and wife" or "Stef and Matty". I will use the vacuum cleaner Matty bought last night, the first new vacuum cleaner I have ever owned in my twenty nine years, and I will hang up pictures from our wedding, our trips to other states and time zones, pictures of our friends and our families. And on Monday I will wake up and catch the Red Line into work. It won't take too long, despite being fart...

That's our baby girl! Oh my gosh, it is July?! Where is the time going? Oh, maybe into moving/planning for baby/traveling/working/family/life.. .Things are so busy but are at the turning point for calming down, well at least as far as our life goes. Okay, I lied, the only thing that is going to calm down is that after this weekend we will be officially moved into our new place, but that really feels like it is going to make all of the other little things in my life so much easier. I am a routine person, I like to have my times that I do things and way that I do things and I feel like moving just makes everything absolute chaos - food isn't being made because the kitchen is a half-packed mess and we haven't been grocery shopping so we don't have to move perishables, evenings are spent being a tired prego lady or moving things over to the new place, and I don't want to waste time cleaning the old place but my OCD is making me not want to look at anything in our house ...