Home and Away

This week, has been a very busy week, I have been away from home for a few days on work related assignments.

I was worried because it was going to be the first time to leave the little boy – Mnara behind. And most of all leaving Chris with three kids. This was one of the fears I had before when we were thinking about a having  third baby, I kept wondering how my hubby will deal with three kids because I tend to travel a lot. 

Of course the fears that I will come back and the baby will refuse to breastfeed.

The fears that he will be very cranky at night and my hubby will have sleepless nights. 

How will they cope? You know, just the mother hen syndrome!

I thank God

They all did just fine. The kids were great, they slept well, ate well, we talked over the phone and Chris assured me that our family was in order and I should just concentrate on my assignment. 

I was so relieved and I was able to work even better. Mnara slept so well, there was one night when he did not wake up at all. Oh my goodness! He slept from 8pm- 5am and Chris was so thrilled. I think the boy figured out, what the use of waking up – there is no breastfeeding after all!!!!

I was thankful to God that Chris had a good time with the kids.

I carried the breast pump with me, so that helped a big deal to ensure the milk keeps flowing. The boy is back to breastfeeding!

Thank you Lord, for everything! It may seem not much, but you have no idea the AGONY I went through when I learn that I was going to be away from home for a few days!

Thank you Lord, for your grace and mercy. That carries me through.

On my way to the venue of the meeting. I met a herd of giraffes. I think it was an awesome site! And a good reminder that the God who takes care of them in the wilderness, will take extremely good care of me and my family.

The herd.

 I think I need to invest in a good camera so that I can be getting good shots!

Have a thankful Thursday! 

On weaning

Some Mums have been asking me to blog about weaning and how I go about it.

Well, to be honest, I learnt a lot from my friend Jennifer and that is what I do to date, with a few changes on the way. I also got a lot of advice from our paediatrician. So what I am sharing is not caste in stone.

When my babies turn 6months, I introduce Baby rice. Which I have faithfully bought at Kirinyaga mills located around globe. Kirinyaga Mills is an extension of Kenyatta National Hospital and they offer all ranges of floor for special persons. Whole and great!

When you get there, you need to indicate the age of your baby on a piece of paper and they offer you what you need accordingly. This days, I hear  you can get baby rice from super market as well.

So I start with baby rice, which I make into some porridge and feed the baby for the first two weeks, as a breakfast feed.

Most likely, the baby does not react at all, because baby rice is the safest flour as far as allergies are concerned.

After two weeks,  I introduce a fruit, most likely a pawpaw, which I tend to feed at 4pm, as an afternoon snack. The issue is, you need to introduce one food after another so that you can pick up allergies and reactions if any.  Issues of constipation are also good to note. I have had some people say papwpaw brings about constipation. You can try a banana as well and all the other fruits.

This trend goes on as long as I think my baby is feeding satisfactory.

When my baby turns 7 months and beyond.

My feeding is as follows

7:30 am – Porridge ( I get flour for 7 a month from Kirinyaga mills)

10:00am – Milk

12:00noon- Introduce some foods i.e., potato and butter nut mashed, matoke and butter nut, sweet potatoes, arrow roots, peas, some greens

4pm – A fruit

6:30pm – A small feed of some food, I also introduce cerelac, I like to have my kids learn how to feed on this and weetabix incase I get travelling.

I also introduce water once the baby starts feeding on solids. 

Quick tips

I tend to make a bigger hole on one of the bottle teats to assist in feeding the porridge. Honestly, I bite with my teeth, to make a good hole. I prefer this than having to feed the baby with a spoon, sometimes I have used this on ceralac too.

Avoid sieving the foods, unless you can blend, just mash with a fork, this will help your baby learn to eat solid foods faster. Further more, when you sieve, you leave all the good fibre on the sieve which can also lead to constipation. 

NB: BALANCED DIET! That's the bottom line!

Have a great Wednesday. 

It pays

One of the things Chris has taught our girls, is the need to say “Thank you Mum for dinner”, after we have we have had our dinner.

Which they always say – “Thank you Mum for good dinner”, even if it means forcing it out of their sometimes stubborn mouths!

So last week, Chris was away for a few days handling some projects, on one of those days, we had our dinner as usual in the absence of Daddy ( we missed him)

After dinner, while Kendi was returning her empty plate to the kitchen, she said

“Thank Mum for dinner”

I went like- “Welcome Kendi”, I was so touched, that she was thankful.

But as if that was not enough, she went on ahead to say,

“Thank you Mum, it was nice”

To be honest, I almost sobbed out of joy, did she say NICE?

I was so thankful that they are grateful, not because we ate some six course meal, but because they appreciated the basic, rice, Ndengu and steamed cabbage (above) and she considered it nice.

I am glad it pays to teach them to say thanks.

I am also glad that my hubby teaches them to appreciate what Mum cooks. Or at least plans to cook, since I do not get to cook every day.

KEEP TEACHING THEM-IT PAYS!

Who we truly are

My boss is one of the prominent women in Kenya. She appears in the daily news paper quite often and she is also a woman that I admire for many things.

Anyway, one of the things I have learnt from her is personal integrity. She has taught me something that helps me to re-evaluate my life again and again. Despite her place in society, If she needs to give you a phone number which she cannot trace and maybe she is in a hurry, she gives you her phone and tells you, please go check in there, for such and such a name. After which she can even leave for a meeting and pick the phone later from you.

Sometimes, when she has something in her mail that she wants you to retrieve, she will leave you with her laptop, ask you to get to her email and down load the documents you want. She will ask you to go through her emails and check it out.

REALLY! She amazes me by her level of openness’. She is the kind – that I say, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET.

How many of us can be confident enough to give our phones to others without worrying about the kind of messages we have in there? How many of us can leave our laptops and not worry that someone might access some fishy information?

Well, let’s pray for integrity of heart, let’s ask God to help us have pure and clean lives.

Have a blessed week, Mums and May our children truly know us for who we truly are, hoping that all we are, is nothing but pure!

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Some weird things

Some weird things I did when I was pregnant

• I  only ate sausages  from Walkers restaurant – to be precise the one in town, reinsurance plaza, so when I needed a sausage my hubby would hide under the seat.
• With Kendi- I loved Java food, It is expensive I know, but I would beg my hubby for just a meal there!, even if it is once a fortnight! 
•  With Tana, even the mention of the word Java would nauseate me- I used to eat Ethiopian food that is what I loved, so I lived in Habesha!
• I never ate chicken when I was pregnant, I just couldn't stand it and have never liked it much ever since, especially when it stewed…
• I feel in love with Mandazi and Chapati when I was pregnant with all the three and to date, when I log into a hotel, they better have mandazi, and if it is lunch, the stew is accompanied by Chapati. When I find you cooking chapati in your house, be sure I will borrow if you are not offering….blame it all on motherhood!
• When I was pregnant with Kendi, at one time I did mobilized my hubby, Alex and his wife to be, Sylvia to take me to Pizza garden, Westlands at 10pm, because I wanted Pizza from Pizza garden, you would have thought they grow them there. After we ordered and it was served at the table, I could not even eat a bite, I got nauseated, and they almost strangled me-put me in a taxi and sent me back home!
• With Mnara, I ate ugali and Maziwa Mala (sour Milk) almost every day! In mean, both Lunch and Dinner!

Well and many more things!...

I once asked my Mum how it was for her, when she was pregnant and she made my day! She told me she hated the sight of BLACK shoes…this would send her throwing up!

I think when we are pregnant, our husbands have a hard time understanding us…but neither do we understand ourselves…so really!!!!!

Let me hear your story and have an awesome weekend. 

Miss Preggy

Thanks giving Thursday!

I am so so  so thankful to God for my Sister Diana. She looks lovely. She looks BEAUTIFUL! Doesn’t she?

Diana has taught me to wait on the Lord with gladness. She has taught me to smile at the storms. She has taught me unwavering faith, she has taught me waiting, she has taught me hope, she has taught me patience, she has taught me trust. And behold the Lord is Faithful. I will be an Aunt soon.

We love you Diana and today, we thank God and bless him for you and your hubby -John.

We thank God today for his Faithfulness. We thank God for the blessing of the little one growing inside of you! we thank God because all the days of that little one were ordained before any came to be. We thank God because he has equipped you and made you strong and will see you to the very end! 

When I think of you girl, the song of Hannah comes to mind.

Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. 2 "There is no one holylike the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

 3 "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed. 4 "The bows of the warriors are broken, but those who stumbled are armed with strength. ...... "For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's; upon them he has set the world. 9 He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.

 "It is not by strength that one prevails; 10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed."

1 Samuel 2:1-10

Routines....

I had never heard about routines. So, as a first time Mum with my oldest daughter, life was nothing but crazy!

Kendi would yell throw tantrums at night and would sleep, when she wants, how she wants and wherever she wants. It was a nightmare I must say- I wondered what is all this –“ sleep like little baby” people talk about.

I remember at one time, we rocked our baby with the car seat, (we had trained her to be rocked to sleep), we had gone visiting she could not sleep. Needleless to say, she used to wake up a million times at night.

One day I was lamenting in the office and a colleague of mine asked me? Have you put your baby on routine?

Well, those were news!!!!!! Rou WHAT?

She told me all about routines and she afterward gave me a copy of the “Contented little baby”. A book that I hold dearly, it has transformed my nursing life! I used to quote the pages and paragraphs like the bible.

As for my daughter who was 7 months by then, she advised me to try cold turkey.

So one evening, after her normal bath, I placed her on her cot; she cried like crazy, but slept after 20 minutes. The next day, she cried for 15 minutes, the next day 5 minutes and THAT WAS IT! She never cried and that was the end of sleeping nightmares. She never again woke up at night either.

I was so settled, to the point of getting pregnant again!

Well, to date. All my babies, including the 6 months old boy;

They all sleep at 8pm, they sleep on their own, once I bath them, I place them on their beds and they sleep. 

They all share the same room. They tell me goodnight and Ethan gives me a warm smile (sometimes he cries, but I give him sometime to cry and then he sleeps). Once he is fully weaned, I will train him to sleep all night-by not picking him up when he cries.

Yes, I get them out of my room pretty early.  My boy was out of our room when he turned 3 months. He joined the girls and even when he cries at night, I feed him and place him back; the girls never wake up as we pick Ethan to breastfeed, and if they do, they say, Hi Dad! Hi Mum….funny!

After 8:30pm, my house is the most quiet house in the neighborhood prior to that – with three kids, it’s usually noisiest!

They all sleep in the afternoon, at 1pm and wake up around 3:30 – 4pm. However, the boy also takes a morning nap at 10-11am. We don’t rock him, we just place him on his cot and he sleeps.

For example on Sunday, after the worship service, we all have lunch and head home most of the time, they all get to sleep and my hubby and I get to sleep too. We love taking Sunday afternoon naps and we all wake up at 4pm and go out for a cup of tea/coffee.

I thank God for Jennifer, she introduced me into the routine world for babies and my life has never been the same again- because most days  after  8:30 pm, I have all the house to myself, I relax, I read a book, I bond with God and with my hubby!

I like to learn from others because as the saying goes, "I do not have all the time to make all the mistakes that other Mums have made, while I can learn from theirs".

I thank God for His mercies too! He saved me-by bringing Jennifer my way to help me! 

They pray

My children love to pray and it thank God for that.

Everytime anyone of us says they are not feeling well; Tana and Kendi are so quick to pray. They pray even before we ask them to pray.

When I tell Kendi that Ethan is not feeling well, the first things she does it to hold his hands and pray for him, like immediately.

When I tell her that I am not feeling well, she begins to pray immediately. Before you ask her to pray, she is saying Amen.

When she is sick- she tells me, “Mum, please pray for me, I am not feeling well, I feel like a fever” ( I am not sure she knows what the fever  is all about) but all she wants- is to be prayed for.

When I feel low, sometimes I ask Kendi to pray for me, I tell her to ask Jesus to restore my strength. I want them to know the Jesus I know, I want them to know that Mum is not a super woman, I rely on God even to take care of them. I want them to know that Mum feels low and she needs their prayers as well.

I love that that they love to pray.

Well the other day, we were having dinner, the food was on the table and Chris and I seemed to be taking long to settle down, I was in the kitchen trying to get something done. I had Tana say, “Let’s pray Kendi”. They were too hungry to wait for Mum and Dad-so they prayed, just the two of them and continued to eat.

Well, I liked that they prayed, but I later told them that it is good manners to wait for everybody to be at the table before they begin to eat.

Well, the point is, they prayed!

When we drop them to school, we all pray before we let them out of the car. Sometimes, they pray for us as well, they pray for our jobs.

When they are sick and they get healed, even a small scratch on their legs- they scream- Mum Jesus healed me!

May they grow to love Jesus- though they may not understand it all-Jesus is THE only way to go!

Looking for someone to discourage you?

Mums Monday!

Eph 4:29

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building 

others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen”

Sometime back, I was travelling on some job related work. To be honest, I was so down, this happens all the time I have to be away from family. I get moody, cranky and fussy; I actually throw tantrums like my two year old. Just the thought of being away, not always good but I get 

to mange it somehow.

Well, this time, Tana was only 5 months and I was going to leave her behind as well, I mourned 

all the way to the airport but I decided to encourage myself.

However, at the airport, someone who knew me asked “You mean you are going for this meeting as well??” I said, “Well yes, I am going for it too”

“What about your baby?”- She asked “

“She will manage. She is good with the Dad” – I answered

“You are such a BAD mother!”- She said

I had nothing else to answer, I could not defend myself, my eyes became teary and I left the scene. When we got inside plane, her words kept piercing my heart the whole time, actually the whole week, I was away. did she know I was only feeling bad enough!

Well, I do not blame her; I actually do not think she intended to hurt me.  I am a believer that most people do not have the intention to hurt, it’s just that words that come out and rub on us the wrong way.

I am sure if I told her, that she hurt me, she would have been so sorry and apologetic- saying it was not intentional.

So can we get intentional on encouraging and edifying other Mums? Can we look for ways to encourage each other? Can we take guard over our mouth and ask God to help us to be a blessing to each other.

I am not sure most of us will go out of our way to look for someone to discourage us! You must be insane to do that.

Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains 

the weary. 

Plan to sustain a weary soul this week!

My guest authors for today

We love you Daddy! We are so blessed to have you as our father.

You are simply the best; you love on us like crazy,

You sacrifice so much, you take care of us, and you feed us, you bath us, you check us out at night when we are crying, you give us a million kisses before we sleep, you read the word of life to us every evening, you pray for us, you drop us at school, you play games with us, we do projects together…and the list goes on….

How could we forget-you spank us when necessary. That session is never good, but for sure, we think know it is for our good!

Most of all , you love and treat our mother like a queen, that makes us your little princesses and a proud prince!

We love you Daddy! Happy Fathers day!

A nursing Mums hand bag

The other day, I decided to send for some lunch while working in the office. I got into my bag to get some money! It dawned on me that my hand bag is special! It is literally a one stop shop. All in a nursing mothers handbag. I almost never get time to sort it out.

So, what you are likely to find in my handbag most of the time, regardless of whether I am in the office? A few diapers, some bibs, Ethans Socks, Vaseline, wet wipes and the list goes on….

 You are aslo likely to find some old dry chapati in there too and some biscuits.

It serves me well. And hopefully one day- it will get a bit organized, as for now, I am a nursing mum, with three kids that keep me very busy and I am good to go. 

They eat all failures and success.

My family eats all failures and success. They ate all the miserable Pizzas I made before I made the final good one. The other day, I ate some lasagna in a hotel, it was great, had a lot of minced meat and cheese, so I tried it at home and it was awful! - They ate it anyway, are we supposed to throw it away? I tried some boneless chicken and it was great! We ate it too fast before I could take a photo. 

I only have one challenge; I never try out stuff until I eat them. Once I am convinced they are good, I look for the recipe. So the other day, I ate some great cinnamon rolls, Candace brought them with her during Tanas breakfast birthday and I decided to try them out. The first time, they were close to a disaster- we ate them anyway!

Yesterday I decided to try them out again and today morning it was pure niceness in our home...they were divine!

Before they were cooked

After baking

Now I need to get back to my lasagna. Hopefully, it will come out great next time.  When I visit your home and find a new recipe that I like, trust you me, I will try it in my house, oh and some times when I get to eat some good food in a hotel, I try it too-even if it means talking to the chef to get the recipe.

The sleeping sun

One morning

Mum:  Kendi you need to wake up its time to go to school

Kendi:  Muuuuuuuuuuuummmmmm (turning and facing the wall)

Mum: Yes Kendi- Tana is already up

Kendi:  Okay Mum (she get out of her bed, sluggishly  )

Taking breakfast

Kendi: Mum, you see, it’s very early, the sun is still sleeping

Mum: The sun is sleeping?

Kendi: Yes, Mum see…we did not have to wake up, the sun is asleep

So I understood, it was a cloudy morning and we usually have am agreement that no one wakes up until sun rise. The sun was out but not shinning, it was a cloudy morning and my lovely daughter concluded, the sun is asleep!

They just make my days!

Enjoy your weekend!

His job

Last week  I was thankful for my employer, ( Oh and my hubby reminded me that I needed  to have been thankful for working from the 24^th floor of a city building which is located on a hill. I get to have a feel of what is happening in town most of the day. I can literally give traffic updates about Uhuru Highway! – Who gets to see such beautiful views everyday! Thank You Lord!

Today, I am thankful my husband’s job.

Our kids are on mid-term and he can work around his schedule and manage to stay home with them. He chooses to work from home; He keeps an eye on them, which in a great way helps me to work at peace, because I know it can get overwhelming for the house help to handle the three.

I thank God for his Job and I thank God for him too. Because, it’s a choice he makes to hang around home, and I am glad that his job can allow him to make such choices and most of all, he is the greatest partner in parenting-he loves it so much- sometimes, I think he does a better job than me!

Thank you God, for giving us jobs that can allow us to raise our children in a manner that we so dearly desire!

For those who are curious, my husband is a practicing architect, running his own consultancy firm, he is also lecturer at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology ( JKUAT) 

At peace with househelps part 2

I begin with a true story

A friend of mine narrated how at one time she decided to fire her househelp because she felt that the househelp had gotten so much used to her to the point that she was being arrogant.

When she told her to pack and leave, the girl answered back by saying,

“You must be out of your mind, between me and you, who should leave? You think I should leave? Tell me?

Do have a clue of how many of your husband’s socks are torn?

Do you know what is where in that kitchen?

Do you even have a clue how much is left of anything in this house?

Do you have a clue of the snacks that your children carry to school, what I feed them on when they come from school and the questions went on and on...

And for sure, she realized she had literally left her house to be run someone else....

So we continue today with more lessons!

No vision 2030

This is one of those mistakes I make a million times and I am still making to date. I get a househelp and after two weeks of realizing how great she is- I start having visions and dreams for her, what I call vision 2030 ( the Kenyan government blue print)for her. Yes, how I am going to take her to school, educate her baby if she has one, take her for a course and the list goes on and on.

I am not saying this is bad, I have done this a quite a lot, and in fact I fired my last help, while she was attending college that I was paying for. I have realized that empowerment is self driven and no matter how you want to help someone, they must want the help in the first place. It’s good to ask her , what she wants to do in life and see if you can help, but THOU SHALL NOT DECEIVE THY SELF, your good intentions are not likely to keep her, the day she decided to go, she will go, and sometimes, in the most nasty of ways

Lesson learnt- if you are helping, help, help and help again, but never think that because you are being overly nice, she will be overly nice to you too. Do all you do as unto the Lord, even if she never appreciates your efforts, at least you tried and before God, you did your best.

Give up on perfection- It’s for heaven-not earth

You are looking for a perfect house girl? You must be out of your mind! Unless you are perfect too! She is good with the kids but has no clue about cooking. She is a perfect cook- but you may not handle her attitude, she is all good, but a TV/phone addict and the list goes on.

Lesson learnt- always have the minimum standards. The 80-20 principle is only applied when you are looking for a spouse.  I usually work with 60-40...if you can live with the 60%, then overlook the 40 and move on. She will never be perfect. Just learn what you can accommodate. But to be honest...attitude counts a big deal!

Choose your battles,

Do you really have to fight over everything- NO! Please NO! Just choose what to fight about-so the windows were not cleaned last week-that’s not reason for you to engage in war the whole evening. Here, I will say like Joyce Meyer says – choose your battles and only fight those that directly affect your destiny. Eating food without salt will not change how you look, so give it up if the food is salt less!, oh, she is not opening the gate for you, then just open it yourself if you can and move on, . She doesn’t look like she wants to talk today-leave her alone (who doesn’t like some me time anyway).

It’s only a season

I like this one! She is not here to stay. She is not stuck in your house forever! Seriously, why do we get depressed? The longest I have stayed with a help is for two years. After that, it has been one year. When I think of it...there are things that should not have bothered me about my first househelp, after all where is she now? All I care is that she saw and experienced the Love of Christ in my home, the rest are details. So really, ALL of you reading this am sure you will not be having your current help in the next 10 years ( I am being ambitious!), unless you are supper LUCKY! Or may be UNLUCKY (because there are those who refuse to go even when you hint they need to go).

I have a friend who only houses a girl for one year. Every begging of year she looks for a new one signs a contract with her and categorically tells her that she is there for one year. Even when she is good, she still dismisses her. That is her home policy on househelps, she says, after one year, they get used to you.

A day at a time

Take it one day at a time. If she is back on Sunday after her day off. Thank God and move on. If she comes home late, try to calm down and talk to her in a fair manner. And just take a day at a time. Why- because with househelps- tomorrow is never known, just when you are well and dressed ready for work- she unleashes..mimi nimechoka na Kazi, nataka kwenda (  I am tired of working and I want to leave now). So what to do?

Do not get dependent

Do not live like you cannot breathe, if your househelp left abruptly. This may sound harsh, but learn to take care of your house in many ways. Cook when you can, clean when you can, tidy up as much as you can. In my house, I serve the meals unless I am not there. I set the table, serve the meals the way I want them served and I clear the table and clean it all up.  I bath all my three babies after work!, I soak my children’s clothes before I sleep,  I make their bed sometimes, i do i do i do...i cook on Saturday, I cook chapattis and keep them in mass, I cook breakfast on Sunday morning, I do dishes, go to church, cook lunch sometimes and so many other things

(However i also give loads of credit to my supportive husband and so I know it cannot be the same here for all homes, sometimes, you may even need two househelps depending on your home.) But the point is, do something for your family, something special!

My Goal is to set the standards not the househelp! After all, why did I go to school, if all the education in my brain, cannot make me a better homemaker to begin with!

Remember she is there to help, you run the show, but most of us...we allow our househelps to run the show, while we do the help!

Remember

This awesome ladies, they are human beings, they are sisters, mothers and someone’s daughter. Treat her well; be very careful, they have a father in heaven who watches over them as well. You do not want their cries of mistreatment under your roof to reach the throne of mercy, for vengeance belong to the Lord. Take care of them, love them, help them as much as you can. If they never get anything out of your house, let them experience the love of Christ, let them find an employer with a difference. All of us, want to be loved, to be cared for, to be listened too...she is nothing different from you, just that she many never have had the chances and the opportunities that you and I had. It could be anyone, including your daughter!

 Finally – “Masters,(Employers) provide your slaves(employees) with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven” (Colossians 4:1) my addition in italics & Bold.

I feel like I still have more to share...if i do...i will keep blogging.

Who teaches them?

My daughter has acquired a new habit/skill of late. She is only 3.5 years.

She occasionally gives me many big hugs, kisses my cheeks and tells me she loves me, touches my hair and ensures that I am basking in her love! While I am smiles and telling her how much I love her as well....

She says – “So Mum, you will buy me Tinga Tinga Tales, buy me boiled maize...  and the list goes on....!

Okay- so this is what it was all about....how nice!

I think, she will be a good lobbyist, great negotiating skills right there!

We need to enhance these skills in the right direction, so that they are based on proper motives- because I think the side dark of such skills is manipulation.

Secondly, I need to teach her that I love her, regardless and she needs not work hard to get things from Mum, I will give/buy her the stuff she needs when it’s right and when I  have the money!

But honestly, I am curious to see who my girl is becoming!

More so, with those skills, God have mercy on her one day to be husband!

Love you Kendi!

Miserable cake

Sometime back, I decided to make my maiden queen-cakes for the family. But while at it, my hubby and I got into some sort of argument on the whole baking. One, the batter was more that I needed, and my husband was quick to remind me about my lack of keenness at measuring ingredients to the exact measure! Anyway, we decided to bake a cake with the rest of the cake mix. Secondly, my husband advised that I put all the baking stuff in the oven, though some were going to be under the others, namely the cake, while the queen cakes were on top. I was not for the idea. I was not sure if that would work. Needless to say, we had an argument   a conversation around it and I decided, well, let’s see how this goes.

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So finally, when they were done, it told my hubby, let’s go check our miserable cakes-i guess it was us who were feeling miserable not the cakes! 

Well the queen cakes, came out fairly okay, despite my poor measurement!

Then we waited for a bit to get the cake to bake a few more minutes. After 10 minutes, I asked my hubby to go check out his miserable cake. Once it was out, I was like, not bad, your miserable cake made it ( Laughing out Loud). He almost strangled me!

Before long, one way or the other, the good looking cake found it’s way down to the floor and literally  split into two. The cake had no choice but to be miserable! That is all i had declared about it the whole time it was baking. I think by this time, my hubby was not amused, I tried to give him a hug of comfort but he ducked away, leaving me with his my miserable cake.  I picked it up and tried to make something out of it.

The poor miserable cake!

We later laughed about the whole drama (as we ate the cake!)but learnt our lesson. Be careful, what you say! Because you will see the results of your words coming true!

Have a lovely week and remember- The tongue has the power of life and death,

and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 

No thank you

 Funny Friday

Chris and I try as much as we can to teach our children to be polite. And as many of you know, saying please, thank you and sorry is one of the hardest things to train a child. Yes, because we are all born sinners and as the bible says – Folly is bound up in the heart of a child-Proverbs 22:25 .

So, we thank God that our kids are slowly caching up- but sometimes it gets to the extreme.

We have trained them to say "No Thank You" in case they are not interested in an offer (mostly food)

A typical conversation will go like this;

Mum: Tana, you want some banana

Tana: No thank you Mum.

Mum: Okay

So this week, we were faced with another version of No thank you from Tana.

The conversation went like this;

Dad: Tana

Dad: Tana, I am calling you (adding some volume)

Dad: Tana, Come here (adding more volume)

Tana: No thank you Dad

Dad Faints!

Okay-she was so polite- yes she was not interested in that offer, but this one does not require that sort of Politeness!

We are now back to the drawing board

Have a fun-filled weekend!