A Solomon Serenade

My mother-in-law took this on her phone so it's a little blurry but oh so cute!

Smiles Strollers and Fun... OH MY!

This is Solomon's new smile...its hilarious!



And he had so much fun in his play stroller that is definately NOT meant for a 30+ pound child haha.

Treated Like a Celebrity???

This weekend we went to Ngoma which happens to be the only place in the US that I know about where I can get Matooke...a Ugandan delicacy that is absolutely fabulous! I miss Uganda a lot and it's nice to have such a fabulous meal every now and then...

On the drive home I saw a billboard for Rodeo Drive Cosmetic Surgery. All it said was, "We have treated everyone, like a celebrity..." gag... I was repulsed...still am.

It was ironic in a way. Memories flooding my mind of all the time I have spent in Africa (Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan). Remembering a time where every breath I took felt like it had meaning. Caring for orphans widows and some of the most amazing survivors that I have ever/will ever meet... and then smack!! "we can hack your face up to look like a celebrity" wow...I truly don't have anything else to say about it. it just makes my heart sad...

Sleepy Time and Nemo Mania

Last night was a sweet yet trying one. Solomon is having a bit of trouble with him 2-year-molars. He has had a tough time with all of his teeth and these buggers, of course, seem to be no different. He woke up once at 2am begging for "dada" and a "baba" so I hand him over. Will is so willing to get up with him at night, and its a good thing, because his mama strike is lasting forever! He woke up again at 4ish asking for the same. And then at 5:30 he was crying and crying so I got up and just forced him to love me haha. We rocked for a few minutes. He was cuddling, I was loving it. I asked him if he wanted to go lay on the love seat, on the pillow there with me. It was SOOO cold so I got some blankets and we snuggled, no, crammed onto the love seat together. For those of you who don't know, Will and I have a loft bed that is 8 ft in the air, so co-sleeping has been out of the picture ever since Solomon rolled over...hence the love seat grrr. Solomon fell asleep in minutes and there I was, awake and uncomfortable for 2 hours, until he woke up. It was really nice to cuddle with him, and sleep near him. its been such a long time since he has done that. He loves his crib and he loves to have his own space. I am grateful for that. I know its hard to get a child used to their own sleeping space and its nice that he enjoys that without having to be convinced to.

The big TWO-YEAR-PARTY-EXTRAVAGANZA is coming up soon. June 28th, Solomon will be 2. I'm very thankful... we didn't give him a 1st birthday party because he was so young and we didn't have the funds. We just went as a family to the Long Beach Aquarium, which was a BLAST!

Because of Solomon's love for fish, sharks, water, boats, bubbles and of course, Finding Nemo, we decided on a Nemo/Aquarium theme. We were debating on this or Disney Cars...but since it is summer and we are going to be outside and swimming, we decided on Nemo. I am grateful that she is doing this because we really couldn't afford it right now.

Being Born...

I haven't yet expressed how much I loved the documentary The Business of Being Born. It was just really amazing. Solomon's birth was so hard for me, even though I labored at home with my husband and doula for 12 hours...even though I had the most supportive Dr ever who was BENDING OVER BACKWARDS for me to have a natural birth. After 26 hours of hard active labor and almost 3 days of no sleep, I got the epidural. I don't regret my birth at all. We did what we did and it was a horrific and wonderful few days. I always thought "well what if it is that hard again and I need an epidural?" But after this I thought that I really would almost certainly have a home birth, or at least a midwife in the hospital...wow...what an awesome movie!

Then I found this incredible blog, The Human Pacifier, You MUST check it out!

I want to...more

I feel really bad that I haven't recorded more of Solomon's life. He is such a big boy now and I have so little documented. I always forget. I need to take more pictures and video more of him. I keep both in my fruit bowl to help me remember... haha...doesn't work well. I will work on that from now on.

April is done with her semester...yeah for sister summer time!

I want to read more. I want to start keeping track of what I'm reading. I always feel like I have to finish something before I start something else. BUT I am reading three books right now and it doesn't feel as overwhelming as I imagined.

I want to start working out more. I need to find a babysitter. Just someone to come play with Solomon for an hour and a half or so. Any takers?

I want to start being more present and more conscious, in every area...this is how I can make a change in this world. This is my purpose.

War War and More War

My dreaming last night was just awful. I need acupuncture!!! It really helps with nightmares!

I feel like the entire night was just dream after dream of me and some portion of my family being in the midst of war torn territory. It was horrible. Constant fear, constant hiding, constant running. I kept waking myself up and trying to stay awake so that I wouldn't have to continue the nightmare...but I just kept falling back into.

I woke up just feeling heavy. I have brought a child into the world amidst the wars that are going on and it has me passionate to do something about it. Collectively, as people, as a country, as a world, as a whole, we can bring about peace by just shifting our consciousness and being present. We can bring ourselves to now individually and in turn make world wide changes. I need this. Our world needs this on so many levels. I just don't know how to channel my passion and my mission into "convincing" others that peace is a necessity. All I can do is be present I suppose, set a standard and let my life shine. Lord help me...

Solomon woke up in a hissy this morning. I brought him home this cool "Mack" truck and motorcycle from Disneyland yesterday. He woke up crying, which isn't normal, but was yelling, through tears, "MACK!!!!! CYCLE!!!!!!!!!!!" So I went to get him up and he started thrashing and kicking saying, "NOOOO DADDY DO IT!!!!!" Ugh...good morning to you too sunshine! It's like he senses that Will has work/school and just doesn't want anything to do with me! He does all that he can to distract Will to keep him here. I feel sad for him because I know it is really hard to have such a good daddy who is gone so much. At the same time, I always feel like chopped liver, whatever that means. I spend my whole day with him giving him every ounce I can...and I get the daddy-do-it-card every single day!

Silence is now here, ah nap time. I must go indulge in the sickness that is watching the bachelorette...(cringes! yet is secretly excited)