Shelby+Buddy=BFFs

Over the last few months Shelby has increasingly gotten more and more interested in Buddy, our 9-year old beagle.

He too, has gotten to where he'll really play with her and feel comfortable.

Yes, I know that sounds stupid, because he's a dog, but I can tell.

Tonight I was able to catch a little bit of the playfulness on camera.

Check it out for yourself.
(excuse her cough. Allergy season)

Queens Cup Steeplechase 2014

My husband Brad grew up in horse country in Northern Virginia and has fond memories of going to the 'Gold Cup' races.

We've been together, I've also been to similar races in Atlanta and the Queens Cup here in the Charlotte area.

Well, after 2-years of talking about wanting to get a group of people together to go to Queens Cup Steeplechase, it finally happened.

We, along with our good friends, Keith and LuLu, put together a tailgate for 12-people on Saturday.

The weather was epic!

80-degrees, breezy and sunny!

We had a rail spot and tent.

We made sure things looked cute but delegated everyone to bring some sort of food.

This wasn't the full spread.

We ended up with flank steak, fried chicken, pasta salad and more.

A mimosa bar was a must since we got out there at 10am.

I made these thin mint cookies.

I don't think I ate one.

I'm weird sometimes about eating things that I make.

Are any of you like that?

Giving that the weather was beyond beautiful, the turn out was huge.

LuLu, my tablescaping partner in crime.

Very long but fun day.

It's also the first time I've left Shelby with anyone ALL DAY, except for my parents.

She woke up with a fever and was screaming when we left.

Not going to lie.

It gave me a lot of anxiety throughout the day even though we love our sitter Mehgan.

After getting set up, LuLu and I decided to go and check out the grounds.

We ran into the terrier races.

Not sure what I think about this.

When these dogs took off their muzzles they were mauled looking.

We both felt uncomfortable about it.

Stopped in at the Ruth Chris' tent and bought a bottle of vino.

Then made our way back just as they were doing the National Anthem.

Then the races started soon after and the rest of our crew had arrived.

The Jolly's.

BIL and SIL

And others. 

I just realized there's one person missing from this picture.

Bets were a must.

A lot of effort and planning went into the tailgate and day but it was worth it.

Even if we didn't place in the tailgate competition(or at least that we know of).

It's a great excuse to get dressed up, wear a fancy hat and drink during the day!

And, even meet up with other friends!

A day at the races!

A great way to kick off Spring and, soon Summer!!

Infertility Awareness Week

I couldn't let the week go by without acknowledging that it is infertility awareness week.

Many of you know that we experienced 'unexplained infertility' for a couple of years.

 

It is by far one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with in my life and I have made it a point to talk with others currently dealing with it.

It makes you feel 'less than a woman' and unfortunately it makes you many times say, do and think awful things about yourself and others.

 

If any of you are going through this please feel free to reach out to me.

We went through multiple rounds of Clomid, 3  failed IUI's, a failed IVF (where our embryos didn't even make it for transfer), then as we were preparing for a 2nd IVF we found out we were pregnant on our own!

 

I still call Shelby a miracle.

No one will know why we had to endure what we did, but I can say it made our marriage stronger even as rough as it was going through all of that.

 

Today, in this post, I'm going to leave those who are struggling with a few things I did that helped ease the pain.

 

* Stay busy - make plans to meet friends, take a trip, throw a dinner party. I did it all.

* Deactivate Facebook - this was probably the best thing I did. It kept me from going into a tailspin every time I saw someone post a "I'm pregnant!" post.

* Therapy - I talked with therapist and Brad tagged along a few times. This, was KEY, and I truly believe which helped me get over the hump.

It was after a few months of counseling that we found out we were pregnant on our own!

 

That's all I have for today.

Again, feel free to private email me if you want to talk.

deestephensadventures@gmail.com

Toodles.



Easter Weekend 2014

We spent Easter weekend at my parents for the 3rd year.

It's sorta becoming a tradition, they love having us and it keeps me from having to host or plan anything.

 

Shelby's school was closed Good Friday so we headed over after breakfast.

My Mom had everything looking festive as usual.

Shelby was reunited with all of her toys that live at GiGi and Poppi's.

The weather was gorgeous Friday afternoon and knowing a storm was rolling in we headed to one of their neighborhood parks.

Shelby could literally swing all day.

It's her favorite.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the entire weekend.

Brad LOVES taking her to the park and the playground and seeing her get excited.

She sure is a Daddy's girl.

It's super cute.

When planning out the Easter weekend I told my Mom there were several things I wanted to do.

One - dye eggs

Two - make a bunny cake

These were both firsts for Shelby and I was very excited about her being able to do them this year.

 

My Mom had bought real eggs but also plastic dyeable ones along with some no-spill dye kit that proved to not be all that great.

Even Daddy got in on the fun!

 

The real eggs proved to be better for sure!

Next year, Shelby will be even more into, but this year she was pretty aware of what was happening.

Or, at least 'I' think so!



Saturday the weather was terrible.

Cold and rainy.

So, we made the best of it and found things to do indoors.

Fake egg hunting..

Then off to a couple of museums.

One was a children's one in downtown Fayetteville.

Shelby's favorite part was being a checker at the grocery store.

Being a newscaster...

Then checking out the model train display.

Next we stopped by the Infantry and Special Operations Museum that is free and open to the public.

I really think she enjoyed this place better!

She loved the soldier statues.

She would wave and say hi!

HAA!

The museum is very nice and detailed if you're ever in Fayetteville and looking for something to do.

After our outing we headed home and started on our bunny cake.

This is something my boss has done with her nieces and nephews for years and I always said when I had a child I wanted it to be a tradition too.

I think Brad was leary that she was too young, but she wasn't!

She loved helping decorate it.

After a while she realized she could eat the decorations.

Gilfriend was WIRED on sugar!

Every time she would put a jelly bean on she would make the sound 'Ahhhhh'.

Adorbs.

You can tell they do a lot of arts and crafts at school with her because she takes direction well.

New annual tradition!

The bunny cake was delish for dessert Easter day too!

Shelby got a ton of stuff from the Easter bunny.

Along with our basket my parents bought her tons of stuff.

Girlfriend got a princess beach chair, bubble wand, princess doll, clothes and candy.

Then ready for Easter lunch..

Beautiful tablescape..



Several of my parents friends and neighbors came over.

They're all our age with kids.

Shelby met Emma for the 2nd time.

She was so sweet with her.

We had lunch pretty early so we could hit the road and head back.

Shelby didn't sleep a wink on the way home, and was in fact, HYPED.

So much, that we stopped at Morrow Mountain to let her run around and get a diaper change.

The weather was beautiful and the park was packed.

Great day indeed.

Another great Easter weekend in the books.

Hope your holiday was just as great.