It’s been almost a year since my last post, and each time I thought of my blog over the last 11 months, it was with some regret. I’ve been wanting to write – but have just not had the time. I’ve been busy with the children, with school, with home, with starting my MA in Education (and then withdrawing 6 months later).
Anyway, I decided not to deactivate the blog – I put a lot of effort into it for quite a while.
So I’m here now, and I will try to post more.
We are watching X Factor, which I love. Unfortunately we are a few weeks behind the UK, but we (Vins and I) watch it quite religiously.
So right now, we are watching and Vins sees an X Factor app being advertised and wants to download it. The following conversation ensued…
Vins: We should download the app, mama.
Me: It won’t work here because we’re not in the UK. Do you know what the UK is?
Vins: Yes.
Me: What’s in the UK?
Vins: Amazon!
Weren’t you only just born?
Didn’t I just hold you in my arms for the first time?
Wasn’t I only just in awe of your first smile?
Wasn’t it only yesterday that you had your first taste of baby porridge?
Wasn’t it only yesterday that I felt your first tooth coming through?
And when did you take your first steps?
Wasn’t it yesterday?
It feels like yesterday…
But no.
Seven years ago today, I held you in my arms for the first time and knew that I would love you with all my heart, forever.
Happy birthday, my darling.
Don’t ever change – for anyone. No matter how crazy you make them!
I love you!
Booni, my baby…
I can’t believe you’re not a baby any more, and that you are now three years old! Where has the time gone?
Here’s wishing you a very Happy 3rd Birthday.
There is so much I want for you. And there is so much I want you to do.
BUT – I don’t want you to ever change. Keep being persistent. Keep pushing for what you want. Just remember that hands are for playing and hugging – not for hitting!
Don’t ever lose that glint in your eye. That glint is what makes you “you”.
I love you to the moon and back!
Vins: Mama, I can’t find Snakes and Ladders. But I’ve got another game we can play. It’s perfect!
Me: Oh yes? What is it? (My heart started to sink as I thought about another game with his Pokémon cards)
Vins: Let’s play… “Order me stuff from Amazon”!
Me: Errr…
Vins: So we go on Amazon and you have to order me whatever I want!
Me: Errr… No.
Vins has finally discovered the wonder of Michael Jackson! We listen to music a lot at home and in the car – but he’s never really sung along or tried to dance or anything. He’s never been interested.
However, one of his friends bros has made him listen to a few songs and he hasn’t looked back since!
His favorite is the Jackson 5’s Blame it on the Boogie. He found the video and lyrics on YouTube and watches it over and over again. I regularly hear him singing along from the other room when he thinks no one can hear him. It’s actually very cute.
He asked me to print out the lyrics for him. So I did. Then he asked for the lyrics of another song. And then another. And again, he’d find the videos on YouTube and sing long. And… Even trying to dance! If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that video.
The other day I asked him something about the moonwalk and told him we should watch the Billie Jean video. We were watching quietly when Vins suddenly said, “How come he keeps disappearing?” I replied, “Vins, Michael is magic!” He looked at me, unconvinced, “Magic? Michael Jackson is magical? How come?” I said, “Listen to his songs! See how he dances? And how so many people love(d) him? The man is a legend!” Vins agreed wholeheartedly. Then he said, “What about Prince? Is he magical?” I looked at him, a bit surprised that he brought Prince up, and said, “Of course he is!!” Vins asked, “Who was more magical? Prince or Michael Jackson?” I said, “You can’t compare them, Vins. They were both magic. Both legends. Both geniuses.” Vins accepted that. Then after a second he said, “What about Justin Bieber?” I looked at him in disgust and said, “What about him?” He said, “Is he magical?” I replied, “Vins, Justin Bieber has a few songs I like, yes. But there is absolutely NOTHING magical about him!” Vins was quiet for a minute (finally) and then said, “You know, you’re right. The only magic thing about Justin Bieber is he can make girls like him!”
This kid really knows what’s what, doesn’t he?
Last week I told Vins that I wanted to take him and some of his friends out for lunch during Easter break. I carry around a lot of guilt when it comes to his social life. I don’t make as much effort as some mums make when it comes to arranging playdates and having his friends over to our place. We just kind of wait until he’s invited somewhere. This is not good, I know. And I need to step up my game a bit.
Anyway, so as I was telling him about the lunch thing and he stopped me mid-sentence. The following conversation ensued:
Vins: Mama, mama – wait. Just wait. On Wednesday X has invited me for a bros lunch.
Me (unsure if I heard correctly): Oh. What’s a bros lunch?
Vins: You know! A bros lunch!
Me (trying not to laugh): Vins, I don’t know what a bros lunch is!
Vins (getting impatient): Mama – you know we’re all best friends, right? Well, this is lunch with all the best friends together!
Me: Ohhhhhhh. Okay, that sounds good!
Seriously – where does he learn this stuff?
Last Thursday a friend rang me and said that our boys (they’re in the same class) had decided that they wanted to have a sleepover at the weekend, and would Vins want to go…
Wow… A sleepover? To be honest, I was kind of excited about having the TV to myself for a whole evening. But – would he be ok? Would he cry when it was time to sleep because he wanted to come home? Would we get a middle of the night phone call asking us to pick him up? I wasn’t worried about safety or him being in any danger – my first sleepover was with his friend’s mum (many moons ago) when I was the same age! I knew he’d be fine.
I figured I’d speak to Vins and see how he felt about going. For all I knew, he could have been excited when they talked about it at school, but then thought about it some more later and changed his mind. Anyway, he was quite insistent that he wanted to go, that he would be fine and that he was going to have the most awesome time! He was so excited, I can’t even begin to explain…
Come Saturday afternoon, I dropped him off at 5pm and tried to say goodbye. I also tried to get Vins to say goodbye to Booni. But it was futile. He was off, running around the house with his friend in wild abandonment.
LagosDad and I decided to stay in that evening (actually, I decided to stay in and his plans fell through <evil laugh>) just in case that middle-of-the-night phone call came. My friend messaged at about 9.30 pm to say they were having a ball and didn’t show any signs of going to sleep yet!
I woke up the next morning and the first thing I thought was, “Hey! He made it through the night!”
Can you believe it? Can you believe that my Vins made it through a sleepover in someone else’s home? Without either parent or yaya (nanny)?
He really does infuriate me sometimes, but I’m so proud of him!
I’ve tried it all, haven’t I?
Clean 9, Cambridge Weight Plan, exercising (kind of) – and I ALWAYS fall off the wagon. Why?
My relationship with food is not a healthy one. I go through phases where I eat and eat – whatever I want, whenever I want. And I go through phases where I’m pretty good.
Lately, it’s been difficult. I told you about having the cafeteria right next to my classroom, right? Last month, I was feeling fat, like nothing fit me and like I couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it. I exercised a few times – but couldn’t walk for a few days afterwards as I’d overdone it a bit!
After my birthday (yes, I am now 39) I decided that I’d had enough of feeling like that and went to see a nutritionist and “fat loss expert”. People I know already “see” someone (“see” because she doesn’t live here – everything is done online). She tells them what to eat, how much of it and if they go out to eat, she tells them what they can and can’t eat from that particular restaurant. Friends told me to try it out, but, to be honest, I was scared. Scared that I’d be told I couldn’t eat particular things in my favorite restaurants, denied my favorite foods at home, etc. I didn’t want to feel as though I was missing out on anything.
I think I may have realized that drinking two Cokes every weekend, eating pizza every Sunday and having a chocolate brownie and/or French fries every day was not going to help me lose any weight, or make me feel better about myself. Therefore – nutritionist and fat loss expert.
So I met with her on a Saturday morning. She weighed me and measured my body fat, etc. We chatted for a while about the type of food I eat, my timings, etc. She then gave me a meal plan and told me to follow it for two weeks. It involves green juice, salad, a bit of chicken, fruit, spinach – all very healthy stuff. She also said I had to do an hour of cardio every day. An HOUR? Of CARDIO? That’s like the worst thing in the world – ever. Anyway, so I wasn’t happy about it, but I did it. So for two weeks, I followed the diet. I slipped up once – I will NEVER say no to apple crumble!
Then we were traveling last week – so I called her and told her I was worried that I’d undo all the good I’d done. She sent me a holiday plan. It was very doable. But I didn’t do it!! We were on the move all day, and making avocado smoothies just wasn’t possible. Having said that, I think I was pretty good. I mean, I ate – but I didn’t really overdo it.
We got back on Sunday and I started the clean eating again on Monday. I feel pretty good. I haven’t had a Coke or a chocolate brownie in 3.5 weeks!
Anyway, so this is something I’m hoping that I can stick to long-term.
Let’s see!
Goodness! It’s been two months since my last post!
There are a few reasons for this…
Anyway, so I need to give you a very overdue update on a couple of things.
The first is the whole fridge mess thing with Konga. Remember that? It was another one of my whiny posts.
Anyway, the whole fridge thing was sorted out – thanks to a lady called Mercy. She responded to my tweets about the whole thing and made sure I was a satisfied Konga customer. Thank you, Mercy!
The second is about my experience at Oasis Medspa. They rang me the following day for feedback, and they came across my blog post about it. They were very apologetic about it all and sent me a voucher for a complimentary facial and massage :))) (That’s all my chins). Both treatments were lovely and, apart from the slight smell on the towels (still), I’ve no complaints. Thank you, Oasis Medspa!
I’ve got a couple of other things to tell you guys (nothing terribly exciting, try and contain yourselves), but I’ll update you in a bit. Maybe in a few minutes since my kids (at school) are taking a quiz!
The Diary of a Lagos Mum 