The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

Madeleine is very excited for Santa. This weekend was filled with Christmas parties (three in two days!), cleaning up the house for my Mom's arrival on Tuesday (yay!) and this conversation: Me (coming out of a two hour nap with the baby): "This is nice, just relaxing and still being in pjs so late on a Saturday" Matty: "You know, this is how most people spend weekends...." Me: "Oh honey...now c'mon we have to get in the shower and get going, I need to get envelopes and I want to go to Target and I'm hungry and what are you wearing tomorrow?" (my poor husband) On the Boston Common. We ate yummy food, had lots of adult beverages (ok, I did and I paid for it, hence still being in my pjs at 2:00 on a Saturday) and wrapped presents that we bought over the weekend and put them under the tree. I walked around the Boston Common with Maddie and we looked at the big Christmas tree and watched people sing carols in front of Macy's and jus...

My last post was a little on the sad side, because I was a lot on the sad side, but it appears that things are looking up. Thank you to all of our wonderful friends for being you and supporting me and the family through our hard times. Y'all are the best. Here is what else I have been up to, just so you know that I am still breathing and allowing things to pass into the next phase of life. This face is quite possible the cure for all sadness. Watching: Matty and I have been trying so, so hard to get our DVR to less than 70%m but every time we are almost there something else replaces it! I am so far behind on Boardwalk Empire and Dexter, and don't even get me started on the Thursday night shows. And now all I want to do is record Christmas movies and anything that has stop animation. Thank goodness for upcoming days off during the holidays so we can knock some of this out while Maddie snoozes (fingers crossed). Listening To: I just made the most awesome playlist for ...

I am literally, figuratively and completely exhausted. The kind of tired where your eyes feel thick and heavy; where you're starving but have no appetite at the same time. The kind of tired where you want to cry but it just seems like it would take too much energy. I feel like there is so much weight on my shoulders. There are so many things that must get done and I don't know where to start because I don't want to do any of it. I just want to lay down and pretend that everything is done and perfect, but it's not. I want to get into the holiday spirit; get a tree and play my favorite Louis Armstrong Christmas song with eggnog and bourbon and my little family dancing around while we decorate. I want to think about the surprises I will create for Madeleine this Christmas and in the years to come. I want to create gifts for the people in my life who I love so much. I need to figure out how to print the adorable thank you cards I had made for Maddie's first birthday...

11 months of cuteness! In just eight days my sweet baby girl is turning ONE. Say what ?!? I cannot believe it has been a year since our family was completed by her birth and yet it feels as though she has always been a part of us. The joy and love that little person bring into my heart is at times just too much to handle; I can literally feel my heart stretch with more and more love for her each and every day. Being her mama is the best gift I have been given; she has taught me and her dada so much about love, the world and ourselves and it every day just brings more fun. Happy almost birthday my baby girl! On Saturday we will celebrate amongst our Boston friends and family with a Sophie the Giraffe themed party (of course); it has been so much fun to prepare for the day and I can't wait to have everyone over to eat, sing and celebrate this awesome year. It really, truly takes a village to raise a child, and the party will be a reflection of all of the people that have helped...

October is Bullying Prevention Awareness Month so I have been seeing and reading a lot about this topic and thinking about my own role as both a mother and someone who was severely bullied as a child. First, my own story. In middle school I was bussed from my low to low-middle income community and into a much wealthier school in another part of Reno. The benefit was that it was much closer to my Mom's work and they had good honors classes that I could enroll in immediately due to my having been enrolled in honors classes at my previous schools. The bad news was that I was going to school with only a quarter of the people I had gone to elementary school with (but really, I had only been going to that school for a year and a half, so I guess in hindsight it wasn't that bad); but the really bad news was that I was around a bunch of kids who had already made up their minds about what kind of people came from where I came from. See, I was born in beautiful San Diego, Californ...

Yet again, the weekend went by much too fast; boo! We were in Brooklyn Saturday to Sunday so that I could throw my sis-in-law and her due-date buddy a baby shower, then all of the sudden it was Monday again. How does that keep happening? We had a lot of fun in NY, as we always do when we are there. I really love Brooklyn and walking around, finding places to eat and shop just seem to come so incredibly easy when we are there. The neighborhoods are so kiddo friendly and I never feel like a jerk for wearing my baby into the hip spots, even the bars. The Brooklyn sunset, captured by Matty on our walk around Carroll Gardens trying to get Maddie to nap. We stayed the night at the Fairfield Inn in Brooklyn and it was really, really swanky. It was done up very boutique hotel style, had incredibly comfortable beds (to me and Maddie, at least) and there is a roof deck with views of Brooklyn and Manhattan. I had thought about the prospect of trying to go out with my hubs since we had fa...

Welcome to Hell (Night)!!!  Wednesday night Matty, Kendra, V and another couple friend attended Hell Night at East Coast Grill. I am still sweating. Like, in between my toes. If you aren't privy to the Hell Night situation, it goes a little something like this: East Coast Grill (one of my favorite places to eat in the area) takes a couple of nights with a special menu containing the hottest food one could possible imagine putting near their face. Naturally, we have been dying to go forever but it just never seemed to materialize. Then V, being the total badass foodie friend that he is, got reservations for all of us. And then, we got a sitter. No, for reals, and it wasn't Kendra, because she was with us! Two wonderful, newlywed friends were so wonderful and came over to hang out while Maddie slept snug in our bed so Mama and Dada could shovel hot fire into our faces! First of all, it was so fun to be out with K and V, just like old times drinking beers and being inappropr...

Instead of trying to read through my entire blog list before I write my own post, I thought I would just get down the business. I tried to do it the latter way on Friday and ended up reading blogs until it was time to step away from the computer. Not cool, Stefanie! Philadelphia! I wanted to write a post about all of the things that we did in Philadelphia, but that seems so long ago now, so I will make it short and sweet... She's the Eye of the Tiger. The three of us went to Philly to celebrate two years of marriage and ten months of an awesome baby. We had such a blast! The city is so walkable that after we parked our car in the hotel lot we never used it again; we never even needed a cab or public transit, we just hoofed it everywhere. We had recently purchased a Maclaren for Maddie, so this was the maiden voyage for lots of use and I must say that it handles great and is SO easy to fold up and throw over the shoulder when not in use. We saw some awesome history and vis...

Oh my gosh, today was SO much fun. I did the Shape Diva Dash, which I had been defining as a "really easy, girly version of the Tough Mudder" and kind of selling myself short on how tough it was going to be. It was definitely, absolutely in no way as crazy as the Mudder, Spartan or Warrior, but it was a challenge and was super, super fun. I did two things I had never done today: trail running and obstacles, and it turns out I really enjoy them. I feel like trail running might end in a broken ankle for me based on the ease of tripping over nature when doing so, but I still want to try and do it once in a while. This is a pretty big deal considering I am not a huge fan of nature and am pretty much the most clumsy 5'10" lady ever. But considering that a couple of years ago I would have laughed at anyone who suggested doing what I did today, or even me being a runner. I feel like all bets are off. I mean, I am pretty much watching football while Matty sleeps on the flo...

I love these weekly posts; they make sure that I blog and reflect on my week, and hopefully inspire you to do the same. Leave me your Currently link in my comments so I can see what's going on in your fabulous life too! Maddie and her photo album of loved ones, and her awesome NOLA onesie, just because I want to share this picture! Loving: That this week is over. It has not been a good one at the O'Shea house, despite the fact that there were only four working days, there was a lot of yuck in those four days. I didn't manage to get in a single run due to being super exhausted/snooze finger happy, which always makes me feel less awesome about my day. The munchkin has a new tooth coming in, so she has also been a little unhappy, and not afraid to tell us! I locked myself out of the house yesterday so instead of coming home and relaxing after walking up a huge hill with a bjorned baby and three bags, I got to sit on the porch and wish for my living room. But, the week i...

Oh, hey Wednesday night? Where did you come from? And why is there football on tv? Oh, right, because summer is absolutely on its way outta here. Zoom. Later. We pretty much had a jazz funeral for summer this past weekend and did everything that we loved doing all summer in three and a half days off. Friday our dear friend Steve who is now on the West Coast arranged a hang out to drink beer, eat food and catch up at the Abbey in Brookline. I got to meet my former boss at Starbucks' sweet little 5 month old boy and try the Cambridge Brewing Co. Hefeweizen too! Saturday we dedicated to the beach after my yoga class and a run along the beach in Southie. We packed up the baby, the bestie Kate, and some good food and headed up to Rockport. We used to go there a lot the summer before we got married but apparently never got the memo about how amazing Front Beach is and how adorable Bearskin Neck is. There are tons of cute shops and places to eat and some amazing views of the harbor....

In two more hours my three day weekend commences! I am pretty excited to have so little planned for once. Our main goal is to get to the beach and fire up our grill and spend some time together relaxing. Sounds pretty heavenly, no? I really can't believe that it is September and that I am really thinking about the fall and having a one year old. I swear she was just born! Wow. Time flies when you're being a mama to the most awesome little lady. Matty and I will celebrate our two year wedding anniversary in a few weeks, but in contrast it feels as though he has been my husband for much longer. I can't imagine having so much fun being a wife, mama, and so true to myself without him. He's just pretty much the best, period. I though that fall was going to mean a slow down and then I tried to schedule brunch with a friend and realized that slow down, um, not so much. I had a bit of a breakdown recently over feeling so rushed and busy all of the time, and so Matty and I d...

I kind of can't believe that a week has passed since my last Currently post...I swear I meant to post another blog in between! Oh well, enjoy! And let me know what you are up to! Loving: The fact that this weekend is going to be so gorgeous! Matty, Maddie and I went to the beach this past Sunday and I was really quite settled with (what I thought was) the fact that it was going to be our last summer beach day. But alas, this weekend is going to be even warmer than last! I am hoping that we will either head up to Rockport or go visit Maddie's Grandpa on the Cape but I will be just as happy with another day on Nantasket...who cares, we will be on the beach! Maddie loves going to the beach! Reading: All of the summer issues of the magazines I have subscriptions to: Real Simple, Glamour, Shape, Food and Wine, Travel + Leisure. Yes, I get a ton of magazines in the mail; it used to be so I could take them to the beach and leisurely read them, but now I have chubby little th...

A blogger I follow started doing these little check ins, and I think it is a fun way to get some blog inspiration and share what's going on in the fabulous life of Stefanie! Feel free to play along, and post your blog in the comments so I can see yours! Loving: Making it to yoga twice a week. In a perfect world I would go much more, but I am committed to my Tuesday night class with the bestie and my Saturday morning class at the Y with the old people and my teacher that looks like the Old Spice guy. I first tried yoga with my friend Daley in Reno when we were in high school and always did it on and off until I moved to Boston and attempted to make it a regular part of my life. It was incredibly helpful when I was working in the prison; I would sit in an hour of traffic to get back to Boston and just let everything from the day melt away in those classes. I was a sex offender therapist at the time and spent hours upon hours listening to horrible things that most people go the...

Today is Madeleine's "inside out birthday" aka her 9 month mark! Woohoo! Happy 9 months, my precious little girl! I love the smell of your head and the slight kick of your feet as I cuddle you in your sleep. I love your gummy grin and crazzzzy hair when you sit up in bed first thing in the morning, always ready to start the day with a smile. I love the way you are SO persistent in your attempts to stand up; one handed balance, go kaboom on your diaper butt and do it all over again. I love watching you smile at your "Dada" and flap your arms when he gets home from work. I love naps on the weekends with you and having our girl talk over cereal in the morning. Your presence, your personality and your smile are all your Daddy and I need to make us beam with love and happiness. I can't wait to see what the next nine months has to hold! XoXo, Mama

My sweet little Madeleine passed her eight month mark; her nine month check up is already on this month's calendar. I am talking about her first birthday in a realistic, planning sort of way. My sweet little chubby cheeked munchkin, oh how she has stolen my heart, and her Dada's too (she does, after all, say Dada over and over and over these days). She is gorgeous, a perfect mix of me and Matty and all of our family traits - the big, blue eyes from my family; the perfect, rounded nose from his. She is a funny kiddo - she is constantly smiling with her toothless, gummy mouth and squishy nose. She loves her kitty, her wonderful nanny and eating yogurt with blueberries. She hates going to sleep when there are more important matters to tend to (ie. anything else); she can't stop pulling herself up on anything and everything and bouncing up and down on her chubby, delicious legs. I curl up next to her each night and wake up in the mornings to her adorable smile and mess...

Sunday we took Madeleine to Nantasket for her first day on the beach and she LOVED it! As soon as her chubby little hands touched the sand it was in her mouth, her hair-everywhere! She loved the water and stood the cold temperature much better than her Mama does. We've been taking her to swim lessons at the Y, mostly so she can get comfortable with water and splashing around, and she did so awesome in the classes. She was always excited to be in the water and didn't fuss at all when she got it on her face, even when she dunked her little face in! She's going to be a little fishy! Beach days take a little more planning and packing than pre-baby (tent, toys, swim diaper!) but I'm so very excited for many more in the next few months. Good thing we'll be on the Vineyard for a week starting Sunday!! Even though the official start of summer just passed, I feel like we have been having a very busy, fun summer. We have lots of friends getting married; two weddings dow...

I did it! I ran my first race! If only I liked IPAs.  Let's back this story up a bit, to a time before there was a baby in our lives, when time flowed like wine at an Italian wedding, when sleep was something I spent at least 9 hours a night doing, sometimes even more, because I damn well could. It was the summer of 2010 and wedding plans were wrapping up as our wedding date was getting closer. I was spending a lot of time and the gym keeping myself in shape and able to keep that gorgeous wedding gown of mine fitting like a glove. I went to the gym before work, after work or on the weekends and Matty and I spent a lot of time on our bikes. Around this time Matty had the crazy idea of running the Boston Marathon to support the National Organization for Rare Disorders. I thought this was pretty insane - why would anyone want to run for that long, and was that even possible? It sounded miserable to me. But, being the supportive lady I am, I decided that I would tag along with Ma...