It's been a loooooong week,what with the demands of setting up a physically tasking job and raising 2 young kids,I'm in dire need of some luxurious R-And-R.. preferably at a spa where water, steam, and relaxation time work together to rejuvenate you. However, it's not feasible now, both time- and financial-wise. So,I try to recreate a trip to the spa in your own home. It is really not that hard.

 Here are five things must-haves for this to happen:

1-Uninterrupted time:

This is the most important one. Plan your at-home spa time when you're sure of a few hours free-time eg your husband has the kids out . I prefer to do mine  at night, after they have gone to bed and he's out watching the Premiership  with his…

 As a Lynda who faced the extreme controversy over the meaning of  my name way back (FYI, "Lynda " means "The Pretty One " and NOT "Serpent " as I'm sure you heard )I'm  really into baby names and I'm here to tell you that if your child's name is on this list, it's going to be just fine. In fact, take pride in knowing your baby name choice won't be ridiculed. Unless of course it's Nevaeh, which  made the list,by the way. 

Check out the top 100 most popular baby names of 2011.

Girl…

 “Honesty is the best policy” William Shakespeare

Honesty is a very important value that we have to seriously teach our children. Imagine where this beautiful country of ours will be if every man was honest; possibilities beyond our imagination!

The big mega million frauds started with a very simple dishonest act; a lie maybe or something we might easily shrug our shoulders and over look. But if we truly want a better future for ourselves, children and generations unborn, we have to start taking HONESTY seriously especially in children.

Children by nature are plain and honest and can be so easy to read but my mother says “children are the most self centered set of people on earth” basically because, they want what they want even if they have to cry their eyes out to get it.

As they grow older, the usual “crying” method stop working on you and here comes the time when your very sweet child begins to act wrong.  This is the time when your…

Are you a crunchy mom? I am because I practiced On Demand Feeding, babywearing (backing primarily), Co-sleeping, Organic Feeding and baby-led weaning (well, until 15months - it turned to mommy led at that point because my plan had been 1yr max and it was no longer fun for me... it's a good sign that it's time to stop when it gets to that point)...and I'm pretty environmentally conscious, women-focused and mildly political...

Maybe it's all those years of living in California that made me one, I don't know but I'm quite a tree hugger, back to the basics especially as the world becomes more advanced and complicated... Now I wonder if I should switch my handle from "Lazy 9ja Mom" to "Crunchy 9ja Mom", hmm, too lazy to switch …

So,I was watching re-runs of "Girlfriends" which is an old favourite the other day and thinking that some of Tracee Ellis Ross' fashion picks would be great for a girls' night out. I drooled over the short ,sexy dresses , fabulous heels and chunky necklaces and thought about how my typical wardrobe consists of yoga pants , over-sized t-shirts borrowed from my husband's wardrobe and trainers or flip flops .

It also occurred to me that my last girls' night out was seven months ago, when I (reluctantly) went for drinks with my husband's baby cousin (who incidentally,is now my bona-fide girlfriend). The girls' night out before that? Sometime in 2006, I think.

My point is,I don't get to get out very often.…

From an early age we need to instil values in our children and teach them life skills to help them stick to those values when they face challenges. 

For example, being an entrepreneur in a tough industry like media has been challenging but despite the odds,I have stayed true to my values. Might be too good to be true but it's the truth. I may not have it all but I'm grateful. And I'm sure we all have that tempting experience that we overcame without compromising our beliefs and values. It is not easy! That's why we have to teach to our children as we were thought.

It's a shame that in our quest to give our children all the modern things that we never had as children, we are taking for granted giving thee the things that we were given; the essential values that got us to where we are today.



Ofcourse,you don't have to do any of it alone as child rearing is a community thing; raising the best possible leader of tomorrow is our work and we would love…

9jaMom: What is your name (meaning, if any) and where are you from?

Taiwo tia Ajao

Taiwo - to take a taste of the world. First twin.

Ikeoluwa - under the care of the Lord

Ajao

“tia” initials.

Born in Washington, DC but from, Ondo State, Ondo town to be specific.

9jaMom: What are your kids’ names, who picked…

LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE

What am I Here for? was written from the perspective of a new mom with many dreams and plans in limbo. I became very challenged with the topic of my passion as it relates to purpose and destiny. What am I supposed to be doing? Where is my place? What am I here for?

The lyrics of the song were written on June 23, 2010. My husband and I had been married for less than 2 years when we started our family. I worked at a job where I had to commute 2.5 hours each way. As soon as our son was born, my commitment to the job waned and it was very difficult to focus. I was burdened by guilt and it became very stressful for me. I…

I’m Pregnant! How the hell did that happen with this yeye birth control? Where are my Lawyers? Let’s sue the makers of the Pill and Plan-B all at once! Mschew!!!

I wasn’t ready; that’s how I really felt when I found out I was pregnant…

I loved playing with kids and always knew I wanted three kids with room for an ‘suprise’ fourth. At that time, I didn’t realize that I loved those kids that much because they weren’t mine; they went home with someone else at the end of the day!

When I found out I was pregnant, I had mixed feelings and elation was the least of them. One of the first things I thought about was ‘how in the world am I supposed to go on my honeymoon now?’ Selfish? Maybe, but the truth… You see, I was just a month into my wedding and had planned an elaborate honeymoon for the following year - a few weeks in Greece,…