The Fabulous Life of Stefanie

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...

These two and their shenanigans. I just had to post this cuteness. Hi y'all! Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a happy Friday, mostly because I just really love typing that it is finally Friday. It has been a very busy week between work, Matty back in classes and trying to not sleep through my half-marathon training runs (the weather is just so crisp and perfect for sleeping at night!). Today is our four year wedding anniversary, and to celebrate we are going to my AIL's house to do laundry and not make our own dinner. I know, it IS heavenly. Then tomorrow we get to go out on a dinner date to canoodle and talk about how incredibly awesome the last four years have been. I am so proud of everything that we have accomplished together: a healthy child, our own home, growing careers and so much travel, laughs and memories. I really, really love that man of mine and am amazed at how these years are flying by. Four years ago! We have absolutely not one single thing...

This past weekend our little family drove up to the Brattleboro, VT area to spend the long weekend and see our nanny get married. We dropped my Mom off at the airport Saturday morning (booo) and were up there in the great wide open in time for lunch. We had such a wonderful time, so much in fact that we are already planning our next visit (which is saying a lot since a certain  husband  person usually doesn't care much about non-beach side destinations. Our trip was made extra awesome due to where we stayed , which was a lovely loft house attached to a farmhouse in Putney, VT. The house was great for us - two bedrooms, a full kitchen and the most beautiful views. The farm had horses, chickens, a dog, cats and goats, which were the highlight of Maddie's experience when she got to walk them on a leash! We were allowed to get fresh eggs out of the chicken coop, which were absolutely delicious. There really is nothing like farm fresh eggs, and having Maddie go help Dada g...

I cannot believe that Labor Day weekend is just a few days away! So much has happened this Summer since my last Currently post and I can honestly say this has been a Summer for the books! Here is what we are up to as the summer rolls out and pumpkin everything   Fall comes in behind it. Reading: I am a couple hundred pages away from completing Allegiant, which is the final book in a trilogy by Veronica Roth, and it is due back at the library tomorrow so I better hurry! Most of my friends had a decline in their enjoyment of the books as the trilogy went on, and while I do agree that the first one was the best, I am actually still into the second and third. As with a lot of YA books, I do get a little annoyed at the brooding, poor decision, boy-crazy female protagonist, but it made for some good summer reading. Eating: I am trying to get in all the yummy summer fruits before they are gone, and have been incorporating lots of random berries into my morning smoothies. Also,...

This was on everything I owned as a young woman and is still a favorite picture. Kathleen Hanna circa 1992 (I was ten). I have a memory in my late teens of eating at a local pizza place in Reno with my Mom when two men sat down next to us and started staring, leering and uttering that oh-so-charming "pssssttt" at us. As a feminist (riot grrl identified, thankyouverymuch) it made every sense in the world to me to look them directly in the eye and tell them to FUCK OFF , Kathleen Hanna style. My Mom was equal parts impressed but also worried; what if they retaliated? What if they got physical? My thoughts: let them try . Hell, bring it on, assholes; I will be happy to take you on or get you arrested for assaulting two women just trying to have a mother daughter lunch together. Many years and one move to one of the country's most progressive cities and I am steal dealing with the same shit, and I am still as pissed off as ever. Actually, I am even more pissed because...