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.
This morning I had to go to Spar. If you know me, you will know that I HATE grocery shopping. But, you know, someone’s got to do it.
We needed a new iron and a few other things.
Anyway, got there and went upstairs. Chose the iron (bought two (don’t ask)) and paid for them upstairs. I went down to the supermarket area, got a trolley and proceeded to start dumping things in.
I got to the till, the checkout girl scanned everything and someone else packed it all for me. And… My card didn’t work. Actually, it wasn’t my card that didn’t work – it was their POS machine thingy. No network, apparently. She tried from three different machines and it didn’t work. They asked me to use the ATM outside to withdraw some cash and then come back to pay. There was a lady in the other queue who said she’d just been to that ATM and it didn’t work.
They then suggested that I go across the street to the bank and withdraw the money from the ATM over there.
I became a bit irate. You see, you’d think it was so simple to just ‘go across the street’ and get some cash. But it’s so much more complicated! I said to the checkout girl, ‘So I’ve spent one hour in this store, your POS machines aren’t working, so I have to leave all my things here, go across the street, withdraw the cash and then come back and pay?’ I was beginning to regret leaving the house. She replies, ‘I can’t let you take the shopping without paying.’ FFS – I never said I wanted 10,000 NGN worth of groceries for free! The lady behind me in the queue offered to lend me the cash. A great big thank you to her, if she ever reads this. But I couldn’t accept that (even though I’d have paid her back).
Anyway, so I had to just suck it up and go to GTB across the road. There are three ATMs outside the branch and NONE of them were dispensing cash. So off I went inside – to the second floor (no lift), stood in line and then managed to withdraw my money. Got back into the car. Had to go round again (irritating even though I wasn’t driving) and went back to Spar.
They wouldn’t let me in through the exit ((near the tills)I understand they have security policies and stuff in place, but I wasn’t about to rob the place, ffs), so I went in through the entrance and had to walk through the whole store again.
I realise this is hardly a big deal, and I feel ridiculous even writing about it. But I can’t understand how something like this can happen! How can none of the ATMs work? How can NONE of the POS thingies work? I wasted a good forty minutes in total. Forty minutes I could have spent at home. Alone. In peace.
I’m guessing that the whole problem was through GTB. Hopefully they’ve sorted themselves out by now.
I’m so knackered.
I wake up and count how many hours there are until I can go back to sleep again! And, I’ll have you know, that afternoon naps are a thing of the past (unfortunately).
At least Easter Break is happening from next Thursday – Hurrah! And I’m going to Dubai – Hurrah! Without children and LagosDad – Hurrah (kind of)!
Let me give you some back story on this…
So… one of my BFFs (H) has a big milestone birthday coming up at the end of May and she’s been talking about getting away for a girly weekend to celebrate. I can’t get away in May and she didn’t want to take time off work, so we decided to go over Easter weekend.
The next step was deciding where to go – Zanzibar? Istanbul? London? Paris? We both knew we wanted to shop a bit lot. Eat a lot. Chill a bit. We knew it was only for about four days, so nowhere too far away. Where would be best?
H decided on Dubai. Nooooo! How was I supposed to tell my parents that I was coming to Dubai for four days, not staying with them and not bringing their grandchildren? I tried to convince her to go to other places – but visas (expense of) were an issue and H just wasn’t having any of it. She had decided on Dubai. LagosDad, very sensibly, said that it was H’s birthday and that I had to go along with what she wanted!
I thought about taking the kids – leaving them with my parents for four days (with the nanny too) and then after H went back to Lagos, I’d move in with my parents. But it really wasn’t worth it. Easter break is only a week long and it was too much money to spend for four of us for only a week.
I thought about how to bring this up with my mum. As it turns out, I needn’t have worried so much because she wasn’t going to be there anyway! While I’m disappointed that I won’t see her, I won’t feel so guilty about not taking the children.
So, after all that, H and I leave next Thursday. S (another friend) will already be there and we’re going to spend four days in Dubai – shopping (first and foremost), eating (can’t wait to go to McDonalds), drinking excessively (maybe only on the first night, as we’re getting old now and our hangovers last about three days) and chilling (if we can tear ourselves away from the mall).
Do you think it’s strange that I’ve not mentioned my children or how I’m worried about leaving them and that I’ll miss them?
I will miss them. And I am a bit anxious about leaving them. But I REALLY need this break. And I know they will be well taken care of.
Vins has agreed to go to Easter Camp (he never ceases to amaze me) – so he’ll be busy every day. And Booni… Booni will have playdates.
See? We’re all good!
Remember when I made that Personal Shopping appointment at House of Fraser last year? I was quite pleased with my purchases. Remember?
Well… It took a while for me to settle back down in Lagos – get the children sorted, etc. So it was a while until LagosDad and I were ready to start going out in the evenings. By this time, some of the clothes were too big and I just couldn’t wear some of the other stuff. What I mean is, I looked at them and thought, ‘What was I thinking?’ ‘People will laugh at me if I wear this, it’s so not me!’ and ‘Why on Earth did I buy this?’
I’ve worn most of it. At least once. Some more. But they really are hanging off me now. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not exactly lost loads of weight, but those clothes are too big.
Over Easter I bought new jeans and cropped jeans/pants when I was in Dubai. They were great for a while – but they’re also big now. Again, I’ve not lost a whole lot of weight – but I have lost some since I did the Clean 9.
When I knew I was going to London, I decided to make an appointment with a personal shopper again. After a lot of internal debate (I’m just like that), I decided to go with Debenhams rather than with House of Fraser. More because, like I said, the guy from House of Fraser didn’t ‘get’ me.
I checked when my sister would be free (God bless her) to look after Vins and then made my appointment online. I went for the two hour General Update appointment. I didn’t know if I’d need a whole two hours, but figured it would be best to book that type of appointment just in case.
I met Valentina when I arrived and she showed me into a private dressing area. She asked if I’d ever ‘done this type of thing’ before and I told her about my experience the year before. She said that what she did was a little different. She didn’t just go and get a whole bunch of clothes in your size and make you try them on. She took shape, size, lifestyle, colours that suited, etc. into consideration.
She asked what I needed, what styles and colours I liked and disliked. She knew immediately what size I was wearing and then asked me what she could do for me. I told her that I needed help. And desperately! She said I was very well dressed (yay!), but that the style of top I was wearing wasn’t what really suited me. I told her that I wear that style to cover my stomach. However, she said I have a ‘wonderful hourglass figure’ and I had to show it. Oh. Ok then.
She left me for about twenty to thirty minutes to go and get a whole lot of clothes.
First – the jeans… I bought two pairs of jeans. Both amazing. And… Not expensive! I tried on a whole lot of tops and trousers and dresses. While I wasn’t thrilled with the sight of my stomach protruding in some of them, I knew that I’d be doing the Clean 9 again in a couple of weeks! And, I have to say, when I tried on a couple of the dresses, I actually said, ‘Wow!’ when I saw myself.
She told me not to look at all the sizes she’d picked up. But of course I couldn’t help myself. I had to ask her why some of the sizes were one or two sizes down from what I normally wear. As it turns out, she knows the store, the brands and the clothes really well. She knew instinctively what would fit and what wouldn’t.
Valentina helped me ‘wear’ the clothes properly. She told me how to put things together. What not to wear together and what kind of shoes to wear with each thing. And the best part was, she was friendly and chatty.
I was in heaven. And I was feeling good about myself. That’s always a bonus.
Once I tried everything on, I had to decide what I was going to take. I moved all the ‘Nos’ onto another railing. I looked at the ‘Yes’ rail and told her it was too much. She said she’d ring it all up, see how much it came to and then I could decide. I agreed.
The total was too much. I removed several items and cut my total by £200.
And I felt better. So I bought everything else!
If you’re thinking of making an appointment with a personal shopper, I really recommend Valentina. She did mention that she wouldn’t be at Debenhams (Oxford Street) for much longer, and I don’t know where she’s going, but she will be freelancing. Call her – she knows her stuff.
*This is not a sponsored post.
So as you know, Vins and I went to London for a couple of weeks.
We left on a Sunday – both of us excited. But I was sad to leave Booni as well. Vins was amazing on the flight. He only threw up once (at the end). Thank goodness for Kwells Kids!
We got our luggage, our minicab and checked into our hotel. It was his first time staying in a hotel and he spent the first few hours saying, “Mama, this hotel isn’t very good, is it? They don’t even have a kitchen!”
My sister was arriving on the Friday and I knew that I’d want to spend some time with her – shopping and whatnot. So I tried to make the first few days extra special for Vins.
On Monday morning we ran a few errands – picked up a passport application form, did passport pictures, bought a SIM card, topped up my Oyster Card, etc. He was super excited to have lunch at McDonalds (as was I!) and then he insisted that we go to Mothercare to buy his and Booni’s new pyjamas *face palm*
After spending what seemed like days in Mothercare (I usually love going there – but it’s a different story with Vins in tow. And I hate it when the sales are on and everything’s strewn around the place) – all because he couldn’t decide on which dinosaur pyjamas he liked best (we bought both in the end), we went to Geox so he could choose his new sandals. I don’t know why – but he takes so bloody long to make a decision!
We went back to the hotel – he watched CBeebies and I started filling out the passport application form. And we had dinner at Pizza Express. It is actually a blessing that Vins eats spaghetti and pizza now. It really made life a lot easier for me!
The next day we went for an early Chinese lunch and then went to London Zoo. He loved it. And we walked A LOT! I hadn’t been there in years – at least 11, maybe more. I found it a little disappointing. It didn’t seem as big as it used to. And there didn’t seem to be as many animals either? But we had a good time together, anyway. I think his favourite part was the ice cream at the end *smh*
Wednesday was his passport appointment and I took him to the Harrods Toy Kingdom after that. It was, in hindsight, a mistake – but he hadn’t been there and I wanted him to see it. Well… He cried because I wouldn’t buy him a £50 guitar. And then he cried because I wouldn’t buy him an £80 children’s camera. However, I did get him the Transformer he’s been wanting. And a PAW Patrol book thingy. I also got him one of those remote control cars that goes up the walls and stuff (but I told him it was for someone else and I’ll give it to him for his birthday). I got Booni a birthday present from there and I got myself a new jigsaw puzzle. Nightmare. Anyway – at least this way I wouldn’t have to do Hamley’s. Right?
I spent most of Wednesday evening deciding on what we should do on Thursday. In the end I decided to take him to Chessington World of Adventures. He troubled me a bit – but on the whole, we had a really good time. We didn’t get back to the hotel until after 9 pm that night and we were both exhausted! He went straight to sleep – but I had to pack! We were checking out on Friday morning and moving into my sister’s room after she arrived at lunchtime.
Vins really was very good for those first few days. We spent time together and did a lot of fun things. Unfortunately, once the weekend came round, he changed! I just couldn’t understand why he was playing up all of a sudden – having more tantrums, etc. Then I realised – he was used to it being just me and him. He had my undivided attention. And then when my sister arrived – I was suddenly distracted. And he didn’t like it!
Anyway – my sister arrived. She had her own stuff going on – so Vins and I were still spending time together. Lots and lots of time. I was beginning to feel a bit suffocated!
On Saturday evening Vins and I met with LagosDad’s brother and family. Vins gets along with his cousins and chacha (father’s brother) and chachi (father’s brother’s wife). It’s amazing – he’s so reserved with so many people; and although he doesn’t know them very well – he’s totally comfortable! I won’t tell you about one of his cousins or about Vins throwing up at the table at ASK…
I had booked tickets for Dinosaur Zoo for the Sunday – it was brilliant! If you have a kid interested in dinosaurs – go see this! Vins was a bit scared – but it really was good. I won’t talk about the tantrum that happened afterwards (all because he wanted popcorn but the kiosk was closed)!
We spent the rest of the afternoon on Oxford Street.
On Monday afternoon I got my haircut. It was such a pleasure to go to Sam at Le Beautique Spa again! And yes, Vins came with me. He was very good, actually.
I’d booked tickets to go and see The Gruffalo for the following day and I (and Vins) were quite excited! In the afternoon I had an appointment at Debenhams (more on that later) and my sister took Vins to the park. She brought him to me a couple of hours later before she went out for the evening. We ran a couple more errands and then went home.
We went to Croxley on Wednesday – to visit Vins’ cousins. Actually – we ran errands in the morning and went to them in the afternoon. The kids played in the garden and my sister-in-law and I were able to catch up in peace!
My hairdresser, Sam, had convinced me to do keratin treatment – so that’s what I was doing for three hours on Thursday afternoon (more info to come) while Vins went to the Natural History Museum with my sister. In some ways I felt as though I was wasting time sitting there for three hours and not doing anything – but I was also so happy. It was the first time I was just sitting down and doing nothing. And without a child!
Poor Vins – on Friday he spent the day with me – going to House of Fraser, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer to get all the VAT forms sorted. We also had to pick up a few other things along the way!
We were leaving on Saturday evening, but of course there were things I’d forgotten – like shirts for my FIL, and the cooking sauces my MIL wanted. So we rushed out again on Saturday morning to get those sorted.
And that was it. I tried to make it as much fun as possible for Vins.
Two weeks went by in a blink of an eye!
(You can see photos on Instagram – lagosmum)
Going back home in 3 days and I can’t wait!
I’ve enjoyed being in London and spending time with Vins (more on that soon), but it’s been rather full – on.
I still have stuff to do here – there’s never enough time to shop and do other people’s errands!
And of course I can’t wait to see my Booni Boo 🙂
Last week V and I went grocery shopping. He’s very good at remembering what we need (or I could just make a list?).
Anyway, so we were browsing in Goodies, looking for Dettol wipes (does anyone know where I can find the multipurpose ones! by the way?) when we came across nappies, baby wipes, panty liners and sanitary pads. I was checking the price of things when I saw him pick up a packet of pads.
I don’t know what brand they were, but there was a picture of a woman in her vest and pants, sprawled across the front.
So he picked it up, looked at it and said, “Ugh. I don’t need these. These are only for mamas!”
I’ve put on a lot of weight. I’ve gone up two dress sizes. Yes, the same happened when I was pregnant with V1. But I never really lost all the weight the first time round, so now I’m bigger than I was then. Oh – and my feet have also grown. Again. Last time they grew half a size. This time they’ve grown a full size. So they’re a size and a half bigger than they were before V1 was born!
I’m not thrilled about it. And I know I can lose a lot of it (if I put my mind to it) – but it will take time. More likely it will take time until I actually start doing something about it! It’s very rare that I feel determined to do something. It wasn’t until last year that I started looking semi-normal (for me) again. And that was when V1 turned three! I’ll have to start working at it sooner this time I guess.
Before I go any further, it would be worth mentioning that I’m not trying to offend anyone with my comments about size or shape. I’m not saying that big isn’t beautiful or anything like that. I’m talking about MY size and MY shape and how it makes ME feel. I think if you feel good, you look good. And right now, I’m not feeling good. Got it? Good.
Since Baby V was born (two months ago), I’ve worn leggings every day. Leggings and a maternity t-shirt. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I’m very comfortable – I won’t deny that. I tried on some jeans about two weeks after he was born. Big mistake. I couldn’t get anything round my waist and zips hurt my c-section site. So I decided I wasn’t going to do that again.
I was tempted to buy lots of winter clothes. You know – layers! But that was pointless as I am only in London for a short time. And I’m glad I didn’t as it’s been so warm. Well, until yesterday anyway.
And now I need summer clothes. All summer long I’d waddle around the shops (buying stuff for the children) admiring the clothes. I wanted to buy loads – but didn’t know what size I’d need. So I didn’t buy anything. And I’m regretting it now!
Anyway – so since I’ve never been this size (very large) or shape (very round) before, I’ve really struggled to buy clothes. I didn’t know how to dress for my shape or what would look good/what I could get away with.
The first thing I did was go to John Lewis to get myself measured so I could buy new bras. I couldn’t wait to get back into underwired bras! After trying on about ten bras, the ‘fitter’ (I don’t know what else to call her) told me my size. She then went on to tell me that they had NOTHING in stock in that size. Lovely. So I went to House of Fraser. I got fitted again. Turns out I wasn’t the size the woman in JL told me, and I was actually another size. But that size wasn’t in stock at House of Fraser. I was ready to have a meltdown. All I wanted was a bra! The lady at House of Fraser gave me another size option. The fit wasn’t perfect – but it would do.
I’d been thinking about making myself an appointment for a personal shopper at John Lewis or Debenhams. To help me with my clothing dilemma. I’ve been to John Lewis A LOT over the last few months – and while I’ve liked a few things I’ve seen – I hadn’t liked loads. So I decided not to do it there. I don’t know why I decided against Debenhams, I just did. So while I was in House of Fraser that day, I made a Personal Shopper appointment for the following Wednesday. The lady who took the appointment asked me if I’d mind a male stylist. I was quite happy with that. In fact, I preferred it.
The next morning I put on my new bra. And I was really upset. It just didn’t fit properly. It had looked alright in the store – but terrible at home. So I went to Bravissimo. Why I didn’t go there in the first place, I just don’t know. The lady who did my fitting was brilliant and I left with four new bras. Hooray!
So the morning of my personal shopping appointment dawned. I was nervous. What would it be like? Would it be like a Trinny and Susannah thing? Would I look like a different person (yes please!)? Would I get to walk round and choose stuff with the stylist? Would he laugh at me and my huge arse? Would he advise me on what I should and shouldn’t wear? Clearly I had too much time to think about it!
Anyway, so I arrived fifteen minutes early and waited. And waited. A man finally showed up. He looked at me and smiled and said, ‘Hi’. I said ‘Hi’ too. And then he said, ‘I haven’t seen you for a long time.’ Errr… Or ever? I told him we’d not met before. He looked a bit confused but shrugged it off.
He led me to a private dressing area for my consultation. I explained that I had just had a baby and needed summer clothes – day and evening. The consultation was about ten minutes long. He said it would normally be longer, but because there’s only winter wear on the shop floor there weren’t going to be too many choices! Great. He told me to wait there and that he’d be back in about thirty minutes with a whole bunch of stuff to try on. That was fine, but I was confused. How was he going to know what I will or won’t wear? He didn’t know that I try to avoid sleeveless tops (the arm holes always gape and my back fat isn’t a pretty sight). He didn’t know that I like sparkly things. Or that I didn’t want to wear any short tops. What the hell was he going to bring me?
When he came back, he brought a rail of clothing. I immediately saw things that I hated. And a couple of things that I quite liked. On the whole I didn’t think he really ‘got’ me. But how could he have? I tried everything on anyway and I have to admit, I was quite impressed with some of the things. He told me I had to dress for the body I have. Not the body I had. NO SHIT? REALLY? Isn’t that why I was there? He also told me that if I wear long tops and t-shirts, my legs would look shorter. Oh yeah! I saw that immediately. I’d much rather have my arse hidden away, but that wouldn’t always be possible. I wondered why he hadn’t bought me some of the evening wear I’d seen when I’d walked around earlier. Did he think I was too old? Too fat? Wouldn’t need it? I let it go and decided I could always try stuff on on my own at a later time.
So he did quite well. I bought quite a lot. I won’t tell you how much I spent or how many items I bought. But I will tell you that because it was all mostly summer wear, it was pretty much all on sale!
The experience has bolstered my confidence a little. I feel a bit better about going into shops and trying on (and buying) larger sizes than I’m used to.
But I am going to miss my leggings and maternity t-shirts once I’m back in Lagos!
Hooray! We made it! We’re in London!
We’ve been here about ten days and have just been busy sorting out the flat – getting towels, an iron, hangers, a kettle, etc… And of course the TV and Internet!
V is loving going to the park every day, feeding the ducks and playing in the playground.
I forgot how much I love London in the summer. Although I am a hot and sweaty mess!
I am trying to be extra organised. I have been buying clothes for baby and V (school uniforms included) in bigger sizes for LagosDad to take back with him. And I’ve even ordered baby’s crib and a new mattress for the cot in Lagos.
I know I don’t have to do it all now, but I need to feel as though I’m doing *something* to organise myself. Plus the sales are on and it is the perfect time to buy summer clothes!
V has been doing a little shopping with me. He is very happy to come and choose things for the baby (as long as there’s something in it for him).
In fact, the other day we were wandering around John Lewis (he likes to call it, “the shop where you buy your bras”), and we were looking at the all the teddies. He said, “Mama, I think my baby brother would love to have this cuddly bear. I’m going to buy this bear to put in his cot.” A lady was walking past at this time and she stopped to listen to our conversation, with one hand over her heart. A few seconds later he said, “Mama, you don’t worry about the baby ok? Don’t worry about anything because when the baby cries me and yaya (the nanny) will feed him his dudu (milk). Ok? You don’t worry.”
He really is growing up so fast.
Anyway, am off.
More soon!
You know what I love?
I love shopping. LOVE it.
You know what I hate about shopping? (No, it’s not the clothes that don’t fit, or the shoes they don’t have in my size)
I hate being followed around the store.
In Dubai, there is usually someone to greet you at the door when you walk into a store. It’s very polite and I always greet the assistant back. It’s just manners, isn’t it?
What I cannot understand is why that assistant then has to follow me around the whole store!
I took V to Hamleys last week and this woman followed us around for an hour! Each time I turned around, there she was!
And it happens in almost every shop.
Today I went to buy pyjamas (for myself). I walked into the store and said good afternoon to the lady. She followed me around (as expected). Every time I touched something she said, ‘Would you like that? Which size do you want?’
I was so irritated! LEAVE ME ALONE!
I went into TopShop last week. I greeted the lady after she greeted me. She asked me if I needed any help.
I said, ‘No thank you, I’m just looking.’
And she replied, ‘Sure, I’m just here if you need me.’
She didn’t follow me around everywhere.
So what is it?
Do I look like I might steal something?
Do the sales assistants get commission?
That’s the only thing I can think of that would make such ridiculousness slightly more acceptable.
The Diary of a Lagos Mum 