The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

I guess these have become a monthly routine for me; I really enjoy reading them on other blogger's pages and hope that you get some ideas from mine! Watching Maddie has been very interested in watching Disney movies lately, which is a-okay with me! We have a lot of the classics on DVD but I am finding that I want to have them all so she can grow up watching them just like I did. She will take one off the shelf (usually Nemo or Cars) and bring it to me and point at the Xbox (our method for playing DVDs). It kind of melts my heart. We tend to only have the tv on in the morning for news and PBS and at night after tubbie time, so lately the Disney viewing has been a family affair; Maddie and I even watched Bambi the other night and she was cracking up at the silly scene on the ice pond. So cute! I cannot wait to take her to Disneyworld and Disneyland in a couple of years; she will totally know who the characters are and really get to enjoy the magical experience along side this over...

I am not sure where to start with this post, what witty or cute thing to say, so I am just going to skip that and let this picture do the talking: I ran a marathon! Yep, twenty six point two miles later, I am a marathon finisher and I am feeling pretty darn good about it. The bottoms of my feet are sore, but the rest of my body feels totally great, which means I trained well and didn't push myself too hard on race day. It also means that I need new running shoes, apparently about 800 miles was my limit on my trusty Brooks . The race was pretty amazing for a number of reasons The weather was perfect - cool and sunny with some splashes of cloud breaks to keep from being too bright or hot. The views were beautiful and varied - the Newport mansions, the ocean and lots of greenery - oh New England, you beautiful thing  you. The spectators were awesome - there was a group at mile twenty banging on pots and pans and waving a flag and cheering their hearts out who could not h...

Well, here we are, just a few days until I run a marathon . YIKES! It seems like just February that I was freaking out about how to run a half marathon and swearing that it would be physically impossible for me to ever do a full; oh wait, that was this February! Oh how time flies/the craziness of life makes it seem a total blur when you're having fun. I am a mix of excited, nervous and anxious but very thankful that my marathon experienced husband will be by my side for the whole thing, and my AIL (that is Jane's new title, here on out) will be there at the end with her decades of nursing experience/cooking. I know I won't be fast, I probably won't be pretty and I definitely won't be walking normal for a while but it is going to be my race and I am going to run it! On to other topics before I throw up on my desk... Last night I went to a spin class with a friend who I don't see enough (that covers most my friends these days, darn you busy lives!) and it ...

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...