Money Lessons I've Learnt From Debt

Hope you guys are doing well. These past few weeks have been made up of organizing my life. As you guys know I just had my second baby two months ago so I've been trying to organize my life and trying to adapt to the new life that I have now. 

My life is changing 

When I had just one child it was easier I would say because I could manage just her and myself easily but now that I have two kids even though one is quite young, both of them have needs and these needs have to be met at the same time. This has brought about a very huge change in my life and most times I have to attend to their needs at the same time. I have to manage my time well so that I'm able to be available to both of them. Those are the changes that I'm experiencing now. This really hit me a lot these past weeks and managing the kids with work has not been easy.

My daily activities these past weeks included braiding my daughter's hair, feeding my baby that's breastfeeding, and also cooking. Well, I've not been going out much but I've had a few times where I have to go to the store to buy something or to throw the trash. Most of my activities these weeks have just been home-based activities and doing chores and then trying to work on my content creation on my social media as well as on my blog.  I created a new blog recently (https://africancelebritieslife.blogspot.com) so I've been trying to see how to create content there. I have also reviewed the niche and the direction of my content here.  So yeah those are the things that really kept me busy.

The one difficulty I face now is finding time to work. Honestly, this has made me think about getting help. When I just put to bed, my grandmother comes over and she actually helps me for 2 months. Since she went back I have been on my own and it's really difficult for me to manage the kids and work at the same time. Being a content creator requires that I come up with ideas and I need uninterrupted hours of brainstorming at times. But now I have to always be at the service of my kids it's not easy to actually keep up with that because sometimes I lose my ideas or cut my brainstorming moments and go attend to them.

 When they wake up from sleep or they're hungry or the baby needs to be changed and I am in the middle of work it affects my productivity. I've been thinking of a nanny but I'm really scared of nannies. When you don't know someone it's not easy to trust them with your kids. So I'm really having doubts about that but I really wish that I'm able to find a solution. I also considered a daycare or we creche but I really don't know if I should trust them more I'll prefer that they stay at home and someone watches them at home. Most times I get tired when I get the chance to work at night. And that has really been bothering me these days.

One advantage I've gotten from this is that I have lost some more weight. It's true that it's not the right way to lose weight but I feel lighter and motivated to lose more weight. My belly was so big even after giving birth since I had a C-section. I couldn't tie it or do anything for it to go back so it's just been so big. But these days since I've been struggling on my own and all of that, I really lost weight and I also caught a cold a week ago which made things really difficult for me. I caught a cold, my daughter also caught a cold and I was just praying that my baby doesn't catch a cold too. It was a stressful weekend and all of this has helped me to lose some weight. My belly has gone down. Though it's still quite big, compared to before it has gone down. I'm really not happy that I'm using this method to lose weight but I feel motivated to continue by doing sports to keep getting back in shape. My doctor said I can get back to working out at 3 months postpartum so I have like three more weeks to begin. I'm really eager to start being able to do physical like do sports for real like jogging so yeah that's the one thing that I'm looking forward to. 

All the same, I'm trying my best to find a routine that works for me to be able to be consistent in the things I do. There's always a period where we have to struggle to adapt. When we adopt it becomes smoother and finding a balance becomes easier. I want to get used to the things I have to do and find the best way to do them. So far I'm struggling to produce content for all my social media accounts and blogs and I hope that I'm going to be consistent with time.

About our 30 days self-love challenge; I'm really sorry guys, I wish we could resume last week like I said. I wanted to take some time and make it go on without interruptions but with all the things I went through this past week, I couldn't work on that so I'm planning to work on that as soon as possible to make sure that our challenge goes on without well. I would announce when it's going to be ready and when we can resume.

I believe friendships or relationships, in general, are easy to keep when you are young. As you get older and life becomes more and more complicated it becomes hard to maintain any kind of relationship. Be it with family, friends or a lover. 

That's why today I'm sharing with you a few tips to help you keep your relationships strong as an adult.

How To Maintain Strong Relationships As An Adult

Ask yourself if the relationship still serves its purpose

Every relationship we have or keep has a purpose. The purpose of your friends is to keep you company, share ideas or advice or help each other out one way or the other. For you to maintain a great bond with them you need to find out if over time your relationship still serves you or them. Same with family and other loved ones or acquaintances. 

It's not necessary to keep strong relationships if they are of no benefit to you financially, mentally or morally. 

Keep in touch as much or as little as you can

Staying in touch is obviously the best way to maintain a relationship. But it can be tricky because as we get older we become more occupied or we travel so far or we don't have the means to stay in touch.

So just try to maintain your relationships by staying in touch as much or as little as you can. Some relationships don't need everyday calling and visits while others need that. So give the right amount of attention to each relationship. 

Prioritize your relationships and make an extra effort for the most important ones

You need to know which relationship is the most important and put in the right amount of effort to make it work or to maintain it for your benefit.

As we grow older we have less time to spend so it is important to give our attention to the right relationships. I hope these tips work for you and you build strong relationships with people.

If you are in a relationship or aspire to be in one, it is very important to consider the love language of your partner.

Understanding Your Partner's Love Language

How to know your lover's love language

Can you love them according to their love language?

I'm currently listening to many songs but the one I was listening to while starting to write this post is No stars by Daré. It's amazing jazz. 

Wishing You A Wonderful Week Ahead And Some Small Talk

Today is Sunday and I'm trying to make it a chilled one. My week has been a stressful one even up till Saturday. I'm adapting to a new job and it's not easy sometimes. It's still in my domain and passion of social media but it's in a domain I am not used to. I have tried my hand at it but gave up a few times because it is quite demanding. But this time I'm trying to adapt and learn from it. I also need the extra income so we need to make this work.

If you read my post on the weather, you will understand that the rains have been playing with us these days in yaounde. But yesterday it rained like it meant business and this morning it felt good to wake up to a fresh environment. I hope the rain stays consistent this time.

Talking about being consistent, I missed going for my walk yesterday. I mentioned in this post here that I go for daily walks to care for my mental health. I believe it was caused by the rain and work.

Apart from the rain and work that have been occupying me this week, I have been really occupied with the thoughts of what to do with my hair. I feel like my current hairdo is overdue and I want to change it but I don't know what style to do. I have been going back and forth between raster (braids) or another pass-meche (cornrows). My head is paining from thinking about it. I finally just decided to not change my hairstyle for at least another month. But a moment ago I still felt like doing my hair. I'm just confused.

One thing I wasn't confused about doing today was making breakfast. We did some general food shopping yesterday and among the things we bought were some bananas. Today it inspired me to make some banana puff-puff or beignets as I called it in this post where I shared the recipe. We ate our delicious banana puff-puff with some cornflour pap or fufu pap. It's been ages since I ate fufu pap so I enjoyed it.

I'm happy I had the time to talk with you guys today. I want us to go to our daily blog posts but at some point, I just didn't know what to say to you guys. Since my blog is about my lifestyle, thoughts and knowledge I just felt there was nothing new happening for me to tell. My life is made up of breastfeeding, diapers changing, work and worrying about my financial future. It feels like a routine most times that could be boring if you keep hearing me talk about the same things all the time. But I intend to find the little details that make my day or week and share them with you. Like I did in this post. 

If you have some time you can check out my youtube channel where I have lifestyle vlogs and personal development videos for African women. I also recently uploaded a vlog about my journey to having my second baby by CS. And while you are at it do subscribe if you like my content. Thank you.

I enjoyed the cold weather today. It rained a little yesterday. Today we had no sun and no rain weather. 

Let's Talk About The Weather

It felt good to put on warm clothes. Something I haven't done in a while. We have had days of excess heat lately. It's not been easy to fall asleep in the heat. I'm glad the weather has changed.

When it's cold or rainy I always want to get into bed and watch a video, movie or read interesting blogposts. Like this awesome post about parenting: Parenting isn't meant to be easy. The post is so real and true. If you are looking for an accurate description of what parenting is then you should read it whether you are a parent or not. I hope you love it like I did.

It was nice talking to you about the weather in Yaounde.

Hope this post meets you well. How are you doing? 

I'm doing well and I am happy to write to you today.

I am at one month postpartum and recovering from the birth of my baby by CS has not only been physical but mental as well. 

So today I am sharing with you the ways in which I care for my mental health at this stage of my healing.

5 Ways I Care For My Mental Health At 1 Month Postpartum

Going for daily walks

Sleeping and resting

Watching and listening to ASMR

Eating balanced meals

Blogging

Here are our affirmations for the month of April. Hope you love them and they work for you.

Positive Affirmations For April 

I am worthy of this new month.

This month my life is balanced physically and spiritually

I am growing in all areas of my life this month

This month I am living in abundance

I am conscious of myself and my surrounding 

I am conscious of everything happening to me physically and spiritually

I am brave in times of fear and uncertainty

My goals for this month of April are valid 

My goals for the month of April are achievable

This month I am healthier and wiser

Those are great affirmations for the month of April. Remember you have to work hard for what you want to achieve and believe in yourself. 

For more affirmations for all circumstances visit my positive affirmations blog Ngumabi's Glam. Click here to visit.

Hi guys and a happy new month to you.

Happy New Month | Hope You Are Doing Well

When did 2021 start that we are already in the month of April?

I hope you guys are doing well though. We have been putting our ears to the ground to hear the announcement of any major event that will turn our lives upsidedown like Covid19 did. 

I am glad that so far there hasn't been any major thing like that again. Though the world is still battling with eliminating this disease, I believe most of us are adapting to the changes it has brought to our lives. Surviving this pandemic is already a miracle so you are doing well.

I have been away from the blog for a month and I'm glad to e back. Click here to read this post to know why I have been away all this while.

I hope that we can go back to our usual daily posting. I enjoy posting every day but if I can't post daily I'll still make sure I post many times every week.

I just wanted to know how you are doing and wish you well this month.

How are you doing? I know it's been a few weeks since I posted a blog post. That's because your favourite lifestyle blogger is now a mom of two! 

I had baby number two a few weeks ago on my birthday 🎂. Yes, while others are making wishes and blowing candles on their birthdays I was having a C Section and giving birth to my son. What a way to celebrate and I got the most priceless gifts for my birthday. He's such a cute boy.

These past weeks have been painful healing weeks for me. The pains of the c section were all over my body. I've also been able to get over the fear of the surgery and acknowledge my bravery in the course of facing my fears. 

I thank God immensely for his protection and healing mercies. If not for him I will not be here.

I Didn't Want Another C-Section | Life Update | Having Baby Number Two (Preparation & Healing)

I didn't want to have a c section again.

Writing this makes me remember the knife and scissors that cut open my belly.                                  

I almost saw the process through the reflection of the mirror of the lamp above me. But I looked away. I didn't have the heart to witness it. I hate the sight of blood. 

What I realized at that moment was that there comes a time when a mother has to be strong for their kids. And indeed that moment when I was awake, lying on the operation bed, waiting for my baby to be born and shown to me was one of the most frightful moments for me. But I'm glad I got through it despite the desire to ask them to make me sleep through it. 

And it paid off. I saw my son first (this time before other family members). And it was worth it because that was a special never-experienced-before-moment for me.

Four days after putting to bed

But a few weeks before this moment, I was between hospitals seeking a favourable response. I wanted the doctors to tell me that I could give birth naturally. I wanted to have a natural birth or vaginal birth. 

When my first doctor started telling me about the possibility of another C section, I went to see a second and a third doctor to get other opinions. They shared the same reason why I should have another c section and I was convinced or rather felt like I had no choice.

Preparation

There was a lot of last-minute preparation and I wish we didn't have to wait till the end to get a lot of things done. In the end, I ran from hospital to hospital, doing tests and finally preparing for the c section. Lucky enough we bought the last things the week before I gave birth.

Minutes before I got into the theatre to have my baby.

We also did a lot of washing and general cleaning of the house to receive our little one.

Healing

We spent five days at the hospital. At the end of it, I was glad to go home. The house was a bit messy but I was so happy to be in my space. The calmness and fresh air were nothing compared to the hospital ward I shared with many other women who had to give birth by C-section. Being home helped my healing progress a lot. 

On our way back home 🏡

Reuniting with my firstborn

I thought I could go back to blogging already. OMG, that was such a joke. My body needed to heal. I was still in pains and felt weak. I could not walk straight and my big postpartum belly made sure of that. It weighed so much on the incision and shortened my breath. I need not say that I couldn't sit up for long as well. I also had headaches when I sit up and sleepless nights.

How was I going to write a blog in this condition? I simply listened to my body and accepted that I needed to heal first. It's been a month and I feel way better. I go for walks to help my body heal fast and to get used to walking again. I eat balanced meals to ensure I find the strength to endure all my daily activities. I don't push myself too hard but I still wish I could do more than I am doing now. This is mostly work-related as I am eager to get back to producing more content, and replenishing my shops by purchasing and creating new items.

I'm happy for the progress, I'm grateful for those around me helping me and seeing my two kids bond every day makes me happy. 

Being a mother of two comes with its own joy and I am adapting to the difficulties one day at a time. I'm learning from my experience every day.

I know I didn't make my pregnancy public and that's just a personal preference that I chose for both of my pregnancies. But I knew that I was eventually going to share the news with you.  As for showing my kids online, it's something that I admire but I will not be doing. They may appear partially in some photos or videos on my Youtube channel. I hope you guys understand this preference and still enjoy the content I make.