Pictures from Our Engagement Party

As promised, I am sharing a few pictures from our engagement party this past Saturday. It was a lovely and tender gathering of our families, my mother representing the Ballards. It was a pleasant surprise for her as well. We told her of the engagement once she was in town. Wedding planning will soon be underway. In the meantime, please enjoy these photos.

The ceremony


Maanav and I cutting the cake

Our Parents

More gifts

Me, full and happy

Our cake

Delicious sweets


Omers questions never end. He wondered if the the chandlo and rice were boo-boos

The family

Engaged!!!

This weekend my partner and I celebrated our engagement, surrounded by family and beauty. I will share our date announcement soon.

25 Things I now know as a mama...

1. forgiveness is possible...Omer taught me that
2. planning makes life so much easier
3. sometimes you can't plan life
4. to celebrate and at times give thanks for my contradictions
5. perfection is an illusion (and boring)
6. what commitment really is
7. parenting is not for suckas
8. I will walk to the hospital for my child if I had to--no question
9. support systems are as vital as breath
10. the meaning of relief
11. why my mother worried about me and my siblings so much
12. the miracle of cod liver oil
13. being a matyr is not cool and nor does it teach me or Omer anything
14. children are our mirrors
15. children can make us be better people
16. how much fun watching clouds are
17. monsters are indeed real
18. I can begin again tomorrow
19. I can love someone so completely
20. not to take a bubble bath for granted
21. nothing has made me want to be a better human being than raising another one
22. children are sages and gurus
23. simplicity is the answer to most problems
24. occasional chocolate is not going to kill the child
25. I would not trade my life for anything

Love in action

What a beautiful example of the care that women should receive, both when pregnant and not. Angelina's work is love in action.
Enjoy!

Upcoming Events!!!

It has been a while since my last posting. We have been back from Detroit about two weeks now. I am finally feeling more settled at home, even though things are still a bit out of sorts. I plan to post pics from our trip to USSF soon.

There is so much newness and excitement around my upcoming projects, one of which is coming up in less than two weeks. If you are in the Boston area, we would love to see you there.

The Urban MamaSong Production House Presents:
The Urban MamaSong Café
where mamas imagine, converse and create

The Urban Mamasong Café is a monthly gathering where women and mamas come together to talk, share, imagine, create and celebrate our work as mamas/artists/creators and to celebrate the world that we are co-creating through conversation, creativity and community.

Saturday, July 17, 2010
2:00-5:30
Democracy Center
45 Mt. Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA
*Childcare will be provided!
FREE!

*If you need childcare, it is recommended that you RSVP as to give our provider (s) a idea of how many children will be needing care.
To RSVP or for more information please send an email to
urbanmamasong@gmail.com or call 504-708-4867
or visit www.urbanmamasong.com

Omer: the Graduate

As we quickly move into summer so many things are beginning to fill up our time. Yesterday, Omer had his preschool graduation. The children entered paired up holding hands. The moment I saw Omer, I called out his name. When he saw me, he immediately wanted to come and sit with me. We sat together for a few minutes, where I expressed to him the importance of being with his group. He rejoined his group, but for the next 5 or 10 minutes, he was not a happy graduate, as you can see in the photo below.

He began to cheer up when his class began singing, which Omer loves!

Omer really lit up when he received his graduation gifts, a copy of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and "Where the Wild things are!" We are so proud of him. There have been a lot of transitions for all us these past six months. In some ways this has been a graduation for all of us.



Omer will be entering Kindergarten in the fall at Cambridge Friends School. We are grateful for the need that the Elizabeth Peabody Preschool met for us during this transition into our new home here in Boston. We have found a family at EPH that loves Omer and has given him a very special gift.

The US Social Forum: Another world is possible

This week has been such a busy week. At work, we are getting prepped to support 11 youth on the road as we head to Detroit for the US Social Forum next week. Outside of the work that I do with youth, I am also completing my last packet for the semester in addition to planning for our first Urban Mamasong Cafe in July! So there's a lot going on.

Urban Mamasong will also be in the house, connecting with the fierce women and mamas who are building and paradigm shifting in the world. Omer and Maanav will be coming as well, so this will be an amazing and inspiring experience for us as a family. It will also be a true lesson in balance. I will be journaling about the forum and the conversations and connections that are being built at this phenomenal event, as well as how I balance my work, community building, travel and family. Wish us luck.


May this find you well.

GB