Everyday Grace

Summer = Living in a Bathing Suit

2010-07-13T15:21:00.001-07:00

And apparently, summer also means the occasional nap on the ~~dirty~~ cool kitchen floor.

Summer Travels, Part 1 [Cornell]

2010-06-28T21:31:00.001-07:00

Last month, we travelled to upstate New York for Ralph's youngest brother's graduation from Cornell.

As someone who used to fly a lot, and who cursed babies and toddlers on planes before I was a parent, I was ~~totally freaked out~~ a bit nervous about this trip...mostly figuring that there was a large does of karmic payback coming my way for my younger, less tolerant traveling days.

We plotted our cross country trek very carefully: we would fly out of LGB, so as not to have to endure the chaos (and longer security waits) of LAX. We scheduled the long haul flight to begin shortly before naptime, so that we could get on the plane, be excited about flying, and then have our traveling angel drift off for her nap to the sounds of a cruising altitude engine.

And then we woke up the morning of our trip, and had to reschedule nearly every travel detail (flights, hotels, cars, naptimes) due to a cancelled flight. I'll spare you the ugly details (and most of my frustration and rage)...but our carefully planned Long Beach --> JFK --> Syracuse turned into Long Beach --> Seattle --> Boston. Totally the same.

At any rate, we made it - and Grace was fabulous throughout it all. We even got the coveted "I didn't even know you had a baby with you!" compliment from a fellow passenger. Success!

**************

So...onto the reason for the trip! Cornell! Jon!
(This post will just have pics from our time at Cornell. More from this ~~epic~~ weeklong trip later.)

In pictures...

Jon & Ezra, chillin.

Grace & Mommy...at Anthropology.

Grace & Grammy...

Grace checks out the "Harry Potter Library"

Riding the tram to commencement. (Side note: Seriously?!?! We had to ride a tram?!? Go look up Cornell on a map. It's in the middle of freaking nowhere!!)

The gym, for Jon's school's graduation.

Conversation that took place while I took this photo:
Grace: "Hello? Hello Nola? Hi? How you doing? You have a good nap? Ok. Ok bye."

The Grad & his Mommy

Grad & Grammy

Grad & brothers - and my kid, passed out asleep behind Taggie.

more to come....

Monday is Laundry Day...

2010-06-28T13:44:00.001-07:00

A Couple Super Sale Finds (with a special shout out)

2010-06-17T19:41:00.001-07:00

I find a good degree of amusement in hunting Anthropologie's site for 'pop-back' sale items of seasons past. (I post 'em here for those of you who want to join in my retail obsession...)

Here are a couple I found last week - for 10 bucks each! Woo hoo!

I got this in navy, but could only find a picture of the white

And this one goes out to Mer and Amy in particular - the giant buttons have SNAILS on them!

So wander on over the Anthropologie Archaeologie, and see what you find...

A Whale of a Party: Grace's 2nd Birthday

2010-06-06T22:16:00.001-07:00

Enjoying the playhouse from Grandma & Grandpa, and checking out the decorations:

Last year, the biggest duck decoration I could find was about 2 feet tall. This year, I *totally* topped that. I present...the GIANT whale (and Miss K).

Grace & her cupcake of choice:

Blowing out her candles...and her celebration upon doing so:

Shunning the paparazzi?

After the cupcake? I lollipop!

And ANOTHER cupcake with Grandpa! (Note the post-first-cupcake costume change.)

Posing with Aunt Melissa:

And just posing for her fans:

With Grammy, Daddy, and Aunt Katy:

Hooray for Birthdays!

A Whale of a Party [Details]

2010-06-06T21:59:00.001-07:00

Good.

2010-06-05T11:42:00.001-07:00

A Good Dad.

A Good Friend.

A Good Husband.

A Good Man.

A Good Choice.
Happy Anniversary, my love.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: The Spada's are Walking to Help Fight Cystic Fibrosis

2010-05-24T12:09:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family:

On June 12^th, we will be participating in Great Strides, a walk for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to fund life-saving research for CF.

Cystic Fibrosis is a devastating genetic disease. It causes the buildup of thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs, leading serious respiratory damage. Mucus also obstructs the pancreas, leading to nutritional deficiencies. The daily battle to fight this disease is expensive, time consuming, and unrelenting. And even with a strong fight, the median age of survival for people with CF is only in the thirties. What is needed is a cure!

We are eager to be part of Great Strides, and will be walking with Team Jonah in honor of five year old Jonah Ostermann.

Jonah, right, with twin brother Javan
(picture by little ol' me back in Nov. - more here)

We also walk to honor the friends and family we have lost to CF - an elementary school playmate, a college friend, and 3 of Ralph's Mother's siblings.

Since its first walk in 2006, Team Jonah has grown to well over 100 walkers and has raised over $102,000 for the CF Foundation! We hope to raise at least $25,000 this year. As a family, we want to do our part to raise as much as we can toward this very ambitious goal.

Here is how you can help: Please make a donation that will help find a cure for Jonah and the 30,000 other people in the United States who battle this disease every day. The CF Foundation is a very efficient organization and nearly 90 percent of every dollar raised is available for investment in life-saving programs to support research, care, and education. This is an exciting time—research is currently being done on therapies that won’t just manage the symptoms of CF, but may cure it by reversing the basic defect. This research is very expensive to fund, but the potential rewards are priceless.

Please take a moment to show your support in our endeavor by making a donation today. The easiest way is to visit www.TeamJonah.com and click on 'The Spada Family' to make a secure online donation. Or if you prefer, you may write a check payable to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and mail it to: Team Jonah P.O. Box 4326 Lakewood, CA 90711. Please put our names in the memo line so that the donation can be credited toward our family's fundraising goal.

We are very eager to show our support for Jonah, his family, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation by raising money for Team Jonah. Any amount you can donate will be greatly appreciated. All contributions are fully tax deductible.

Thank you for your support and generosity.

Sincerely,
The Spada's

Not Crafty

2010-05-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

I grew up thinking I lacked the (basically ubiquitous) female crafting gene.

In Girl Scouts, summer camp, and Sunday School, I HATED the part of the agenda that included constuction paper, glue, paint, popsicle sticks, and pipe cleaners. (Ok, maybe pipe cleaners aren't so bad. But really, they're sort of a strange thing to encourage young kids to play with, no?)

But now...I'm starting to think that I just wasn't given the opportunity to explore my craftiness in the right mediums. (Either that, or becoming a mommy has permanently altered my brain...well, ok, that's true...but I meant in reference to the crafty part of it...anyway...)

I've discovered that I AM, indeed, sorta crafty.

Sure, photography certainly has a 'crafty' element to it, but that's not really where I was going with this.

I've tried my hand at some (super basic) jewelry making - and folks (really, my mom's more generous friends) even bought some of the stuff I made.

I've made my peace with paper and glue (but not Popsicle sticks!!), and I enjoy making cards & invitations.

Looky! I made these for my friend Amy's baby shower!

And...I am SO up for any craft that involves lots and lots of sugar!!

I made these for Amy's Shower....

And I just finished these for my kid's birthday tomorrow!

Ready and waiting for the whale party to begin!

I got the idea (read: detailed step by step instructions) from this book. (And I feel totally validated, by the way, 'cause Amazon files it in the 'creative' section.) Can't wait to try something else...who needs some cupcakes??

Anthro Sale Finds

2010-05-20T08:12:00.001-07:00

Anthropologie kicked off their semi-annual 'Tag Sale' on Tuesday. Around the Anthro blogging community (you didn't know such a thing existed, did you? Delve into the Anthro ~~stalking~~ blogging world here and here, for starters.), the sale was much hyped, and then hailed as a let down. It may not be super stellar online, but I found some great stuff in store!

Exhibit A:

Eltham crops - $10!! (Down from $118!)

Exhibit B:

Country Fair Dress, by Anna Sui. (Yes, the skirt is covered in circus images.) $20, down from $198!

Ah, I love me a good sale deal. Anyone else find something fun at the sale?

Do you like my hat?

2010-05-15T22:08:00.001-07:00

It must be cherry flavored...

2010-04-30T16:14:00.001-07:00

My Valentines [Backlog: February]

2010-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

A Trip to Grammy's [Backlog: February]

2010-04-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

We headed up to Lompoc one pretty February day....

We hung out with cousin James:

Blew some bubbles:

Checked out some bushes:

Ran on the neighbor's lawn:

Wore some hats:

Gave some hugs:

Watched more bubbles:

And gave Grammy a back rub:

Visiting Grandma at Work [Backlog: January]

2010-04-26T16:18:00.001-07:00

Wow, I've been a mommy-blogging slacker!

When you're Grandma is a kindergarten teacher, you never know what you'll find visiting her at work...

Neon foam spaceship and a fishy book? Check.

Conquest

2010-03-16T20:50:00.001-07:00

Patti writes all the blog posts because she is more articulate, funny, and has a great eye for humorous and beautiful picture composition. However, I need to share tonight's bath time with Grace.

In my nightly effort to distract whilst washing her hair, I offered to sing a song with Grace. Please let it be known that I am neither good at this, nor have a large library of lyrics at my disposal. I think that Grace has started to notice. Nevertheless, I persist.

Me: "ABC's?"
Grace: "No."

"Row Row Row Your Boat?"
"No."

"Leo the Lion?"
"No."

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?"
"No."

"Conquest?"
"Conquest!!"

I proceed to sing our favorite USC fight song with moderate excitement on the part of Grace. When I complete, she asks for "another song." I proceed through my extensive offerings.

"ABC's?"
"No."

"Row Row Row Your Boat?"
"No."

"Leo the Lion?"
"No."

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?"
"No."

"Conquest?"
"No."

Hmmm...that worked last time...

"So-Cal Spellout?"
"So-Cal Spellout!"

After one rendition...
"More Spellout!"

After a second...
"More Spellout!"

After ten...
"More Spellout!"

Uh-Oh

2010-03-02T08:33:00.001-08:00

Through an odd confluence of events that could really only happen at the Spada House....there is SUGAR in my iron.

Really? Really?!? Seriously?!? Oy.

Photoshop Practice

2010-02-22T21:47:00.001-08:00

Ah, young love...

Toddler Logic

2010-02-10T14:34:00.001-08:00

While watching me take the sheets off the bed to wash them:

Grace: Help. (As in, I want to help you.)
Me: (handing her the pillow cases) Put these in the washing machine. We need to wash them.

Moments later, I find:

(That's my pillowcase on the bath room floor.)

Hmm....I suppose that is the place most associated with washing things in her mind. Well played, kid.

Holy Cuteness, Batman!

2010-01-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, really, who taught her to pose like this?

The Return of the Sun

2010-01-27T16:04:00.001-08:00

After its absence all last week, we welcomed the sun back by taking to the backyard on Monday. (You know, for like, a day, until it rained again.)

So pretty...

...and speedy!

Here, I'll teach Stitch to do...um, something...with the ball!

That was effective.

Maybe a different ball...

Ok, we're over the ball.

For as obnoxious as he is, he's still darn cute.

Look! My kid's so talented! She can balance a ball on her head! (Ok, not really. She was throwing it in the air, and I happened to catch this awesome moment.)

Yay for the backyard!

Thumbs.

2010-01-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

I read somewhere that the thumb is now the dominant finger for my generation. (Really?!? Who tracks this stuff?!?!)

Clearly, it is for the next generation, too.

By the way, Grace gets the credit for Daddy's 'accessorizing' here. Just for the record.

When did she get so old?

2010-01-26T19:31:00.001-08:00

Fashion Trends, According to Grace

2010-01-12T15:55:00.001-08:00

Shades are making a strong comeback this season.

Worn especially well when accented by Gymbo the Clown.

Happiness is...

2010-01-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

...Sprinting through the kitchen in your tutu.