Saying No.....

Is it just me or is parenting so much more challenging now compared to when we were kids. There's so much more to say No to.
Growing up things were so much simpler. My sis and I derived so much pleasure from the simple things. Our mischievous experiments and just hanging out with our friends.
There's a danger out there, clear and present, and we can't bury our heads in the sands... we are not Ostriches. From the media to technology, from strangers in our midst to even the friendlies (yes the enemies are within as well). This is not a call to raise our children in an atmosphere of fear, This is a call to encourage us to keep on saying No. It's tough not to be the 'cool' parent, the 'nice' parent, but every time they give you that dirty look, just remember you are saying No from a place of Love. This is also a call to seek knowledge, information, wisdom... whether we care to admit it or not, what we know determines how we will react in certain situations. As parents, we never want to admit to our kids that we don't have all the answers, but we can admit it to ourselves, that we are figuring this thing out as we go along. So when your son or daughter asks you something you don't know, you can just simply say you know what, I don't have the answer but why don't we figure this thing out together.

Part of saying No is being the bad guy 
My kids got a balloon at a major shopping mall in Ikeja, and like all kids they started tossing it around and chasing it. At the back of my mind I saw the possibility of the balloon floating into the car park and the possibility of them chasing it right to the front of a moving car. I had to burst the balloon  I didn't feel good about it but I knew that one burst balloon would not 'scar' them for live, but one silly mistake could get them injured.

So as we celebrate both the International Women  Day and Mothering Sunday ... Here's a toast to the women in my life that never stopped saying No, Yes or Let's Figure it Out Together!

Have I bitten more than I can chew?

As a sort of dare of sorts with myself and as a sort of challenge I decided to start the "Insanity Workout" 60 day challenge. This is day 8 and yes it is insaneeeee! I have to admit, I have never completed the full 45mins - 1hr workout. I started out with 15mins, the 20 mins and on and on and with a lot of rests in between to catch my breath. When i see the the caption on the screen saying "rest when needed" it cracks me up, because i'm probably resting already ! But really its not even the workouts or the rotations, its how hard my heart beats when I'm doing it, like its about to jump out of my chest!

This is my first post this year so Happy New Year! it isn't too late is it? and Happy Valentines' Day! How was it? 1st of January also happens to be my birthday. I got a Samsung Galaxy Tablet... cool! me likey! me likey very much!!
How was Vals day? Was a little bit irritated with how much emphasis the children's school put on it. I was like "really?" T-boy actually had the day off from school... like really?!! I'm so changing him from that school.  Well, I made dinner for Bobo and the kids. A real sit down dinner with candles and all the works. Fruits, Jollof rice, Coconut Rice, Smoked Chicken , Red velvet and Chocolate cake and Ice cream. Ribena for the kids and red wine for the grown ups. The kids didn't even make it to dessert!! They were so stuffed. I felt as proud as a peacock!!
My go to recipe for Jollof rice - www.sisiyemmie.com 
My go to recipe for Coconut rice - www.9jafoodie.com

In my head I have this amazing kitchen with an island, marble floors and tiles, yellow and very sunny with a dinning nook where i can chit chat with the kids while i cook and definately music so i can groove yeh! Please don't judge. Anything is possible in my head. so while i work and wait, I collect reciepies. Plus with a picky eater like T-boy it helps when i can make the stuff he likes like puff-puff and jollof rice.

So how's the year been going? This is the last month of the 1st quarter. Exciting hun? Today's also Bobo's Bday. Pretty quiet this year though.

What's Playing in my ears and what's tasting in my mouth

My sis and I are avid runners, joggers, power walkers .. ... We run whether we loose weight or not, We don't do gyms. We hit the road and run. We may slack for 2 months but the spirit of running will enter us and we start running again. When i was preggies i walked and walked and walked. The spirit of keeping fit is in us i guess. We don't do well on diets, we can try portion control but we still try to be active. So right now im on another running and portion control binge, i run in the mornings and try to take a walk with T-boy while pushing T-girl in her stroller in the evenings. I figure ever little bit helps. My goal? a celebratory photoshoot in January to mark my birthday.... hmm fingers crossed. I'll probably add a trainer in december to help out.So, I'm always on the look out for hot music to listen to while i run and my sis didn't really give good reviews for marvin (Don Jazzy and His crew)'s album but i'm really really really feeling Tiwa Savage and Don Jozzy's

I also run to Seyi Shay- Loving your way and .Ms Jaie-  Kilon poppin

Now on to food, whether you like it or not, it's easy to get into the rut of serving the same dish every day at dinner and packing boring lunches for the kids to school.. so i'm always looking for simple easy recipies to try at home, who wants to get home at 6pm to start cooking a very long and tedious meal. Besides T-boy has a mind of his own, if he looks at it and doesnt like the look .. then it's off the menu. Well since we got back from Frankfurt i've been cooking up a storm! From caramel popcorn to Ila asepo, mini puff to wild rice and its been ...delic!Bobo can testify... the menu for the ila asepo i got from 9jafoodie.com
Unfortunately i haven't been taking pictures but i'm really looking forward to trying more recipies besides i'm still looking for my party trick (more on that later) So any recipes for a bizzy mom on the go you want me to try and let me know what's playing in your ear when you run, jog or do whatever it is you do

Reworking my wardrobe

Shameless splurge... the internet. internet junkie. That's me. The internet has been a trusty adviser and a very good friend, music, fashion, style, work, life .. and if i don't like what i see? I just close the page!  When i returned back to work 3 months after having T-girl and i wanted to continue bfeeding, i found a site for that ...something like 'work and pump mums' or so. I really really like the internet. I've found so so many great sites, the 33 project (that didn't work for me) and now www.puttingmetogether.com... really? it's like she's just gone into my head and put it on her site. After leaving the bank to have my babies, two things i wanted from my next jobs asides from the regular stuff was 1. be able to wear anything to work (well anything within reason) and 2. go back to engineering. Now i work in engineering, but i had been in a style rut especially since i was coming from a bank plus being at home  its two very different worlds, yes i had shed the suits and the blazers but how to work the new casual look without looking to casual. Being the only female in an all male organization probably doesn't help either. So yes i will be taking on her 'challenge', following her lead.... I already have two lessons from her.

Lesson: Make a list.

Hmm... easier said than done for me because my life transitions a lot with the kids, work, church, hubby, my crafts, but I will do it. I will write a list of what i  want to get. 

Lesson: Define my style

Because i want easy grab and go styles, i tend to stick to basics. Even though I still get to rock a skirt once in a while when i know i'm not going to site,For now i wear a lot of jeans and flats which will probably not change but i'm looking forward to infusing my wardrobe with colored jeans and accessories. I know i'm getting tired of the jeans and flats look but there's pretty much nothing i can do about that. I also like ankara prints a lot but still having a challenge of how to infuse it into my work wardrobe.

Really looking forward to my 're-working my wardrobe' project and will definitely post pictures as i go along. First stop... my wardrobe of course

To Fra and Back

After a 10 day vacation with kids, i had to take a 5 day sick leave before resuming back to work... whether i want to admit it on not, travelling with kids is ......a delight (ha!).... But its so good to be back on my feet again! Unfortunately, i can't find one single vacation picture that i wasn't looking utterly ridiculous and stressed. I had to swap my handbag for a ridiculous shopping bag because i had to take 2 sweaters, 2 jacket, an umbrella in case it rains, a bottle of water, a bunch of bananas in case they got hungry, and we had  to take their strollers.. Bobo and i started to feel like we were groupies and they were the stars! At one point i had to give Bobo a get of of jail free card for a day, so he took off, shopping, site seeing and all. I'm sure that was a high point for him, probably the highest point! One of the highest points for me will probably be, Angela and Francois, our wonderful friends.... mmmwah!!

I think i need to pat myself on the back, I packed everything possible, I just kept tripping myself! I mean E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! Food for the kids, their Drugs and of course my list!.... I need to give myself some props abeg, Zansi-Mother of Two, Wife of One, Engineer, World Class Traveler!

And of course my list! I always have a list when i travel. A list of where to go and what to do. Unfortunately, we didn't get to got the the museums and the carnival but i found a beautiful craft store and  got myself some fabric paint. Really looking forward to some crafting. Will definitely post pictures of my 'creations' ...

Dubai was a dream.... whether we care to admit it or not, we need to do something about our infrastructure in Nigeria.

First weekend back in Lagos, We were off to an owanbe, Bobo's niece's wedding. with gele and asoebi and all.

I don't really mind travelling with the kids again but its good to be home.

On my mind.....

Yesterday I got my weekly dose of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Anybody close to me knows this is one of the ways I get my weekend groove on. I know there's a marketing and charity side to it but Ty and his team are definitely angels! Who doesn't like the idea of someone coming to your house and turning things around. The episodes I watched this weekend touched my heart deeply;  two girls with SMA ( a muscular disorder), and two other girls that are amputees. And it made me take a deep look at my kids and appreciate God and them. My son is a ball of energy and it is very easy for him to start to grate on your nerves because he never stops moving and my daughter just started walking and she is picking up words really fast as well. A dear sister of mine told me once that parenting is about sacrifice. and the greatest sacrifice you can give your children is being the best of you that you can possible be. Our children need role models and the first role model that they see is their parents. It is very easy to invest all in our children and forget about ourselves but when your child looks at you what do they see? do they see a run down mum, struggling to keep things together? or do they see a strong African woman in touch with their generation?because whether we like it or not we have to be involved in our kids' lives. Don't let the only thing they see is you in the kitchen or at the ironing table. There  Their generation moves at such a speed. If you want healthy children, then you have to be healthy as well. If you want children that have a habit of reading, then they have to see you reading. You have to surround them with the culture of reading, a culture of healthy living. The girls from Extreme Makeover were extremely bright and positive and when I think of it, I'm sure their parents  had a lot to do with it.

Post Divalicious Taralicious Birthday

Wow! And the day's finally come and gone! After much preparations, tears and burns (yes burns from my trusted hot glue gun!). Tara's Birthday is on August 12th, and we decided to throw her a pinkalicious divalicious 1st birthday. Still can believe my baby is one, and she's growing every single day. So pre-birthday i went craftomanic, Bowties for the boys

Pink Hair bows for the girls

A Punch Box i saw on acasarella.blogspot.com, you can get the step by step on how to make yours and it was a hit with the kids.

Finished product!yay!

We had the diva cake going on.she had 2 cakes and Temi got a cake as well courtesy mum so he gets a bit of the spotlight and balloons, because nothing screams birthday more than balloons. So my babies woke up to see this. 

The Party invites, just paper and pink ribbons

I made a wreath for her. My inspiration was pinterest.com