we went to Ikenne to spend Christmas with our great grandpa. the drive made mummy think she was going to meet her Lord and Master that day. the driver who took us there was a nutter said mummy. he seemed to be here in the flesh but in reality be on a grand prix circuit in monaco. he was a restless sort of fellow, fast looking with shifty eyes and a toothpick permanently in his mouth. the type of guy that young girls know their dad wont like & therefore must be cool so they have crushes on. this was the guy entrusted with our safe carriage on the already crazy highways of nigeria. mama prayed a hundred prayers.

his speed on the way to Ikenne was quickly hampered by excessive traffic and a lane closure. we drove past a sofa that had fallen off a car rooftop and mama said a quick "thank you Jesus" as she pictured what might have been. as her imagination went into overdrive, we arrived at great-grandpas house. he was the major reason we were in nigeria. mummy and daddy really wanted him to have a chance to see us whilst we are still small. he is 97 and told mummy he plans on being around for 20 more years. ...she is saving for a private jet to fly him to the uk going forward.

there were lots of aunties and uncles for us to meet and it was a fun and lively christmas day! the day was spent eating and drinking, hearing stories from our uncles who grew up with daddy.

my granny's sister, whom i also call granny, got me to try on this 'gele'. I loved it! she said now i looked i a real princess! i felt great,especially when i was given the jewellery to wear too. i was in my element! then grandpa gboyega (my granny's brother), who calls me "little zimba" (because i'm half zimbabwean), gave me his hat to wear and also snuck me some sweeties! unfortunately for me daddy's eagle eyes were on it and as i made for the door to go and eat them, he caught me. he is the real daddy long legs. sigh.

the drive back is what did it for mama though. the driver seemed to be hell bent. just hell bent. he was weaving in and out of traffic, narrowly missing an accident with a yellow minibus / a freight truck / a coach and every other vehicle bigger than us.  mama got worked up to the point of exhaustion & somehow...slept! she was  shocked to wake up still on earth but she swore never to do that journey again. she was at this point reminded that they'd be going back the next day for a separate family gathering. needless to say it was a different driver the next day & for the rest of our stay!

 what i wore:

dress - gap

what mummy wore:

a harrassed look on her face.

xoxo

mummy started her celebrations at midnight, the time she was born. daddy gave her a brand new camera and it was all she could do not to sleep clutching it in bed. she read all about the camera online and got more excited each minute. i, ofcourse, was fast asleep - anticipating all the cake that was to follow the next day.

in the afternoon, mummy joined a few friends for a civilised afternoon tea arranged by my uber fashionable aunty & fellow blogger,  adenike. check out her fab blog here. even though it was just a few of them, they had a whole room to themselves! i was going insane at all the cakes and sandwiches on offer. i didn't know quite what to do with myself, so i ate as much as i could. just as everyone felt they could take no more, a huge chocolate cake was brought in. needless to say nobody could eat it...so it came home, much to daddy's delight.

a photo with the non "african-timers" **cough cough**

in the evening, daddy surprised mummy with dinner at her favourite seafood restaurant, Loch Fyne. it was their first date night in...well, since baby judah came along. mummy resisted ringing in to check if we were still alive at home. if she had rung she'd have heard that i was busy discovering  the  hard way that there is a limit to what my tummy can take. my uncle's clothes can testify to this fact.

if they'd hoped to continue their evening at home then sorry! we were waiting up to greet them when they got home.

as we went to bed mummy announced that we'd be celebrating her birthday throughout March. she says she's sure people celebrated her birth beyond 1st march. sigh. and her stance was validated the next day when she was given some yummy cupcakes by her friend and baker aunty Gabby  of Olivias Sweet Bakes - check her out here.

mummy said only those that supported her stance could eat them....basically her.

dictator?my mum?never...

**our pictures were taken by my uncle taz - see his growing portfolio here**

what i wore:

entire outfit from zara

what mummy wore:

dress - zara (from the sale)

bag - vintage

ring - topshop (old)

xoxo

to announce that this Saturday is our mummy's birthday......she is being dragged down a slippery slope kicking and screaming and waiting at the bottom are 2 numbers: 3 & 5 ,  with arms open wide.

she claims she is:

thankful - that she has lived to see this age that others never got to know

excited - that the best years are yet to come

blessed - to be mummy to 2 gorgeous babies

(she's fooling no-one here! we've seen her looking at her uni pictures & chowing down a whole tub of icecream singing the golden oldie "where do we go from here, why's my heart filled with so much fear..!" at the top of her voice, with the neighbourhood dogs joining in for good measure. we'll tell you why you are filled with so much fear mama -  one step closer to the zimmerframe!)

anyway, she is also extremely grateful to have gained such amazing blog-friends over the last 2 years and would like to give away 2 beautiful necklaces from H & M's "New Icons" collection 2013.

all you have to do to enter the giveaway is:

1. follow our blog on bloglovin by clicking this button:   

2. like us on facebook by clicking here

3. comment below to let us know you've done it

we'll put your name in a hat and myself & judah will pick the names from the hat on mummy's birthday! this is open to everyone everywhere!

all the very best - mummy wishes she could give everyone a necklace but she's saving up to buy the brand zara so she can live there. #truestory

xoxo fom m-h

ciao from judah

we finally got to go and stay with my aunty funke & grandma! it was so much fun in their house. it is a perfectly round house with a courtyard in the centre. grandma said she saw the design in an american magazine - a texan ranch house and she loved it instantly. daddy said they had so much fun as kids in this house.

mummy decided that this was the perfect day to slip away and get someone to come and do her hair. she had  arrived fully expecting to pay about 5000 naira (£20) for whatever hairstyle she chose. she was given a rude awakening when she was told it was 15000 naira for someone to come to the house. apparently this was the busiest time of the year and the lady couldn't spare anyone to leave the premises. as she slowly came round from that coma inducing announcement, mummy decided that sitting in this little market wasn't all that bad and that baby Judah would be fine with the emergency milk at home. she paid 10000 naira to look as close as she'll ever look to Solange Knowles. a collective gasp was heard from the braiders as they surveyed mummy's shrunken afro. "don't they have relaxers in london?" / "why is this hair like this?" / "ah, my sister, this one na serious matter o". it was as if God himself had come down from heaven to cancel Christmas. they were so despondent. by the time mummy had blowdried the hair it was like the miracle of lazarus being raised from the dead. suddenly normality was restored. but still the questions went on: why would anyone in their right mind want to have natural hair?? mummy looked at them point blank - "Because that is my hair. Deal with it."

during the braiding mummy looked across at the only other customer in this "busy" salon. she was about 4 years old and was getting her hair done in shoulder length twists. she looked like she was in agony & mummy was getting increasingly vexed. why was it necessary for a 4 yr old to get braids so small & so painful. she voiced her opinion & soon found she was in the minority as little kids started appearing from everywhere with all manner of braids in their hair. those hairlines....

so anyway, hair got done & mama was ready for christmas. Only thing she didn't bank on was the inconvenience of having waist length hair, a toddler and a baby. let the games begin! that hair was sat on, pulled, chewed, yanked - and that was just me! baby judah had a good go too. this was the best hair yet! woohoo!

mama wore:

outfit: sewn by a fab tailor in Lagos

shoes: Reiss (old)

lipstick: MAC Lady Danger

i wore:

sun dress: primark

p.s - by day 3 the novelty of calling mummy "mama" had worn off somewhat & i was now interchanging the 2, sometimes just shouting *Tanaka!*.

 xoxo

did i tell you that we paid £200 each for our visas to nigeria? i guess i thought mama did - she certainly told anyone that cared to listen - as if somehow by saying it over and over someone somewhere would suddenly offer her £800 for her troubles. no such luck.

in light of this insanity, our first port of call on Monday was the passport office to secure some green passports for those of us that qualified....mama didn't qualify.  the passport office followed the same trend of having  as many staff as clientèle. With such a ratio, one would think it would run at the peak of efficiency....not quite. Some people were simply there standing around and occasionally shouting "NO STANDING AROUND! KEEP MOVING!!". So, move we did. From this little building to that. To the next little building and then back to the beginning. In that time we filled in 3 short forms and daddy was told off for disturbing someone who had just returned from her lunch-break and was resting whilst her food digested.  basically we got nowhere fast.

mama and my aunty funke decided life was too short and left daddy and uncle busoye to it. off we went to the tailor to pick up an outfit for mama. whilst waiting for the outfit to be adjusted, i took a walk around the compound and got to see 2 chickens that were generally roaming the street. we became firm friends.

"here chicken, chicken!"

a few hours later we arrived back home and found my daddy and uncle had just got back from the passport office. they relayed the rest of their joyous time there as mama and aunty exchanged looks that said "thank GOD we left!". daddy said he wasn't wasting another day of his holiday going back there so operation green passport was shelved. did i tell you they knew someone at the office? oh yes, they did. so imagine how long it takes when you don't? i need a lie down...

xoxo