The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

I would usually say that fall, and especially October, is one of my favorite times of the year: crisp weather, Halloween decorations and a certain winding down after the summer months. So far, though, it has been a little bit more difficult this year. The weather goes from lovely to gross, I can't seem the find the Halloween decorations in the basement (or the time to put them out) and I feel about as wound down as a spinning top filled with espresso. In just a week's time we have weathered one hospital visit, three sicknesses, one broken down car and too many hours of stressful work days than I would like to track. Buuuuuut, such is this stage in life, and with our health back, a new battery in  the car (which was the best case scenario) and some sense of calm back at work, I have decided to start enjoying October to the fullest extent. This weekend provided a great opportunity for that as we were down the Cape for some relaxation and so I could run the Harwich Cranberry Ha...

I'm happy to be writing this on the other side of a pretty awful five days; and more so that I can sit up and not cough long enough to write. A tickle in my throat Tuesday turned into a pretty crummy feeling Wednesday which had me in my doctor's office Thursday with a diagnosis of bronchitis and possible pre-pneumonia. Pretty scary stuff, especially at 12 weeks pregnant! I was given antibiotics and told to stay home the rest of the week but by Friday night I could barely breathe. It was painful and terrifying so after being up all night we headed into the ER in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday where I was told I had full-blown pneumonia. I spent 8 hours doing breathing treatments, and getting IV antibiotics and steroids to open me up. I was able to feel better enough at the end of all that to convince my Dr. I could avoid being admitted overnight, and now I'm feeling loads better; I even walked to the park at the corner without getting winded tonight! Such a sad accomplishmen...

You guys, I am so excited that the cat is out of the bag about this bun in my oven so I can finally talk about it over here! The funny thing about second pregnancies is how much less emphasis there is on everything; the first time around it was all I thought about all the time and was SO amazing every time it crossed my mind. It is still amazing and wonderful and all those things now, but I have been there/done that/know what to expect and I am so busy chasing a toddler around that there is little time to lay around and eat golden grapes off a chaise lounge like the baby-making goddess I am. I thought I would start with a little catch up of how this first trimester has been (the good and the bad!) as I approach the 12 week marks and things start getting real! Currently... Reading: I am still trying to work my way through  a book about the ballerina Alicia Markova that I first read about in Vogue . It is a really great book and such an interesting story but it is soooo long ...

We definitely could not be anymore excited to tell everyone the news that we are adding a fourth member to our family. Not one to like to keep any sort of good news to myself, I enlisted Maddie to help spread the word to all our friends and family on Facebook. I think her face says it all! Big sister status is exciting stuff! Although we were trying, the fact that I am pregnant came as a pretty big surprise,  especially since the stress and sleepless nights of the home buying situation were not what I considered prime conditions under which to make a baby. But, lo and behold, we got exactly what we wished for and found out the first morning in our new house, which is a pretty funny story: Matty had taken a quick trip back to the old place to get the rest of our things that the awful movers couldn't fit in the truc the day before. As he did that I did a little unpacking while also getting us ready to go to the Newport Jazz Fest. I happened to be in the bathroom and came across the p...