Grandmas are the best

Steve's mom came to visit for the week and we had a great time. She gets along with Maddie so well, and Maddie just eats her up. She can't really say "grandma," but it is a really cute "pa, pa." It just so happens that during her visit, Maddie has really gone crazy with her vocabulary (bike, chicken, snack, bread, park, book, what's that?, moon, plane, apple...).

Aside from being so cute with Maddie, she was so helpful and nice to us- especially to me! She gave me time to take breaks, go to the movies, sleep in... it was heaven on earth. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Maddie is fascinated with these little twigs in our little park.. and she and Grandma Sue would play with them for quite a while.

As most parents would agree, it is so nice to find something your child likes- because once they find it- they can stick with it for a good hour. (playing with diaper wipes, playing with your wallet, playing with sticks, playing with a random box...) Grandma Sue was patient with her as she dumped these sticks in her hands over and over again.

This post is dedicated to Grandma Sue! Thanks so much for coming to visit- we will miss you and can't wait to see you soon.

Mama Mia

So, I went to see Mama Mia. In one word... LOVE! If it weren't for my concern about not embarrassing the people next to me, I would have stood up and danced and sung at the top of my lungs throughout the whole movie.

Men: please don't see this movie. i think you would die. it is a chick flick x 100,000,000

Aside from the scenes where poor Pierce Brosnan tried to get himself through a medley, I thought the entire movie was perfectly done. I just loved how they made fun of themselves, and let down their hair- especially for actors who have done a lot of serious work in the past.

Meryl Streep was fantastic. I was a little bit nervous because she got some bad reviews, but I was seriously impressed by her ability to let free and sing her heart out. And- dance her heart out!? I have never seen her like this, and it was a great 2 hours.
Meryl is 58? Look at her go! I hope I can do the moves she did in the movie when I'm her age.

I still love him despite his painful solo scenes... he should stick with his normal roles... and forget about the world of musicals. For some reason, he just looks so unatural singing....

And finally... this young star was so great! (Isn't she in Mean Girls? What a difference?) I hope to see more of her in the future.

Mamma: A+

Best invention ever

A friend of mine let Maddie borrow this little device that you see in this picture and she swore that it was the best thing ever. I put it on Maddie, and she LOVED it. (thank you!)

I immediately went out and bought it at the pool supply store, and would recommend this product to everyone who has kids and likes to swim.

Before buying this, I would have to hold her while we swam, when I could feel that she wanted to swim by herself. (but of course I can't let her go!). Everyone said "get her the little floaty things for the arms... get her a little tire that you fill with air....but I wasn't really excited about it... until this!!!

It is perfect. It's a little tire, that has a swimsuit sewed into it- so they can't get out of the tire. Maddie swims all by herself around the pool, and she can be carefree without me holding her. Of course, I still supervise her, but I am also just enjoying relaxing in the water with her.

A wedding

My best friend from law school got married on Saturday at the Forgerty winery on Skyline Blvd. It was so beautiful- I would have taken way more pictures, but we brought Maddie- so my hands were usually holding her.

Wow- if I were to get married again (don't worry Steve, this is just a hypothetical), I would seriously consider this place. The views were amazing, and I loved how the ceremony was outside with petals scattered everywhere.

I really wish I took pictures of her dress. It was my favorite. Again- if I could wear this dress, and if I were to get married again, I would wear it. It was something like this- but not really. very simple, without the fancy stuff at the top, but folds in the dress...

This is a pic of the view of the reception area

And the vineyards. There is something so peaceful/beautiful about vineyards and the smell of the earth when you walk through them.

A mouth full of appetizers.

Hanging out, waiting for dinner.

Her colors were brown (love) and pink.

We have not gotten out as a family for many many months. So, I had a great time just sitting next to Steve. (isn't that sad!?).

This is when Maddie just about had it with sitting at the formal table. I don't know if I'll take her again to a wedding- it was fun, but it was exhausting, and I'm thinking that she might have a better time at home?

Before there was Dora the explorer, Teletubbies and Barney

I have been DYING to drive to Oakland to get my hands on some gluten free pizza I heard about on a web post. Before I stopped eating flour etc, I was a pizza fanatic. I love pizza- especially Hawaiian pizza... but alas. It's just not the same anymore (but getting close).

I was so excited when my fellow gluten intollerant friend was up to crossing the bay.... and when we decided to also hit "Fairyland" since it was so close...

Fairyland and Pizza- what could be better?

Fairyland is a little amusement park that was created before the days of Disneyland. It is absolutely adorable and so vintage. The theme of the park centers on classic stories (humpty dumpty, alice and wonderland...). It doesn't have a lot of rides (only 3?), but it has little mazes, playstructures, animals... it is so fun. It is definitely a lot slower paced than amuzement parks these days (which is so fabulous). The kids really enjoyed themselves (but I have to admit, I think I more fun than they did).

I am secretly obsessed with Alice and Wonderland-- so I was so excited when we came to that part of the park...

Here are some pics:

The delectibly scrumptious pizza place called Pizza Rustica-- and it has normal pizza as well- Zagat rated for years...

OHHHHHHHHHHH. YUM.

Um, can you see how many pizza's we ordered? Was there 7 in all? It was completely ridiculous, but I ate a whole pizza by myself, and took one home. It was so yummy.

This is the entrance to Fairyland!!! YAY!!

Trapped in a western jail!!! (Western town was so fun....)

Aren't the colors on this train so great? They should still make things like this...

AHHH! Alice and Wonderland!!! You go through this maze, and then you go down into tunnels under the park! It was so awesome.

This is her first cotton candy...

Maddie on the yellow brick road!!!


Recognize this story?

They had a cute little puppet show..

Watching the puppet show. Maddie adores these two girls. Whatever they do, she does.

This vintage stuff was everywhere. It really took you back to a quieter/quainter time.

This was one of the few rides... Maddie loved it.

My favorite picture of the day. Her face was priceless here...

At the end-- "Chillaxing" as my friend A would say.

How to Fail a Test

My friend forwarded me these. They are hilarious-- especially because I wish I would have had the guts to do something like this on my tests in physics where I often just sat there praying that the answer would come... HAHAHAHA. (Of course, the answer never came).

This last one is seriously funny. S/He should have gotten some extra credit for his creativeness.

My last shoot

I promised I would post some photos from my last baby shoot. I was really happy with how they turned out. It makes me want to have my next?! (no, not really. maybe in 5 months or so!) The first one is my favorite b/c of the rug lines, the basket... and just the over all look of it. I think I might order a gallery wrap of this...

Keeping it Real

Last week, I drove up to San Francisco to do a photo shoot for Goodwill at their headquarters on Mission Street for a program they have called “Back on Track.”

“Back on Track” was created as a partnership between Goodwill and the DA’s office in San Francisco as an attempt to alleviate the number of first time drug offenders who keep on offending. [California has the highest number of recidivism rates. Sixty to seventy percent of criminals sentenced to California state prisons will re-offend within 3 years of their release!!]

After being in the DA’s office for a few years myself, I was very frustrated by how the prison system is so clearly not working. We put so many people in prison, with no rehabilitation, and waste so many resources. So- I was really excited to hear about this program.

Anyway- if you are a first time drug offender, the DA office gives you an option of getting into a couple of programs- including “Back on Track.” The person commits to 1 year, and if they pass, they get the offense taken from their record. They ask the person what trade they want to train in (trucking, merchandizing, office work), and then the person is trained in that specialty for a year. Goodwill then helps them get a “real” job so that they can start contributing to the workforce in real ways.

Although this may seem easy- just imagine if you were getting paid thousands of dollars for selling drugs, and now you are getting paid minimum wage to do real work? It is a huge sacrifice and struggle for these people.

The success of this program is amazing- only 10%!!! of these people actually re-offend after getting in the program- that is a 40-50% drop from normal!

So, I was “hired” to take photos of the “star” members of their program. We took photos of them doing what they are getting trained in—in the store working on customer satisfaction, in a truck, in a hospital, in the office.

It was really touching. I was so proud of them. And, was very humbled.

My world is very privileged in comparison to many. Most everyone I spend time with is of the same socio-economic background, and for the most part are doing ok.

But- it was very different/shocking to be on the city street that morning with people of all walks of life in sobering circumstances.

I’m really glad that I had this experience and that it reminded me of how lucky I am. Here are a couple of pics that make me smile.