My Life

  The past week and today has been so crazy for us here at work. On one hand we celebrated that we had very potential clients for the kids furniture while on the other, we were greatly disappointed by one client and by one supplier. Stay with me as I vent out please. A couple walked in last week, Wednesday and the lady introduced herself to me and explained that we had earlier communicated with her regarding a pink bunk bed.  Bunk beds are hot cakes and we had sold out the pink model she wanted but had another that she agreed to take.  After consulting amongst themselves,they promised that the husband would come back to make the payment on Thursday and actually drew for us a map to their house for delivery on Saturday. On Thursday, I went to our warehouse and we put aside the items they had selected((it sounds quite easy but it took u)s 4 hours and organised for transport for Saturday morning. As we wound up, the client's husband called and without apology he jokingly s...

Today is exactly 2 months from the date of surgery. Baby gal is doing very well and our isolation of 8 weeks is over and that calls for lots of celebration. She also finishes her multivitamin tomorrow and am so excited, to have a time when she doesn't have to take any medication. Samara doesn't fuss about taking medicine and that used to scare me a lot. On one hand I was grateful we didn't have to force her to take it(just give her the medicine in its cup and she gulps it in),  was uncomfortable with how easily she took it all in as I always declared that was not her portion(the fears and struggles of a mum, I guess). Well, 2 months post operation she has added weight, she is sleeping through the night, stopped breastfeeding, talking alot and we looking forward to her celebrating her second birthday on 7th January 2012. We have so much to be thankful for and we are happy and content. http://pinterest.com/ruth_h/the-faces-of-chd-congenital-heart-awareness-week-f/

One thing I have come to appreciate about life is that whatever challenges or issues we go through, they are not for us but for others. I have also appreciated that many people like taking advantage of your ignorance and therefore information is power and I hope that you can learn from me and avoid same mistakes that I did. Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending free KRA Seminar at 5th Floor Times Tower. The seminar runs from 8.30a.m. to 1p.m.. They educate the common taxpayer be it self employed, company or even non-residents on tax obligations and so when the KRA officers visit you, you know your rights and obligations. The seminars are held monthly and the schedule is normally on the KRA Website.If you can please attend especially if you starting or are in business. When we finished the seminar, I felt such relief because there are a few people who have been making my life miserable with threats of outrageous penalties that were giving me nightmares. Please note when you re...

Isn't it amazing how drama always finds you when you least expect it? On Friday afternoon I received a call from my friend Carol and she told me she was in a clinic in town and was in lots of pain. I told her to keep me posted on what she is told and that I would go see her later. So I packed my things in preparation for the Saturday exhibition and then drove into town. There was Nairobi University graduation on that day and traffic in town was crazy but thankfully I got  parking next to the clinic at 3p.m. We sat with Carol from 3p.m. to about 5.30p.m. being given excuses as to why the test results were not out. This is a story for another day but to cut the long story, we left that clinic at afew minutes to 7 and headed for Nairobi Hospital. We were able to see a doctor and were headed to our home with Carol at 11p.m. My Saturday was crazy and I requested my housegal and another friend to keep an eye on Carol as I would be out of the house the whole day. That evening, when we g...

Have you ever put your heart into something and it fails so hard and it hurts? Well my Saturday was so disappointing I couldn't even believe it myself. When we came from India, I got an email from a friend saying there would be a kids events in December. Naturally I got excited because for us its an opportunity to display our furniture and also interact with parents and let them know about SAS Impressions www.sasimpressions.com . So we got into lengthy discussions with the event organisers and had a deal. The same Saturday there was also another event targeting mums at a diffrent venue. I talked to the organisers and luckily they allowed me to distribute our fliers for free. Thank God for relatives because I had marshalled my sister Purity and cousin Monica to help us. Anyways Saturday morning came and we were at the first event by 8.30a.m only to find that it had rained heavily the previous night and the grounds were soaking wet, the tents were in place but the organisers wanted...

I must say that year was one mixed bag. It had many ups and downs but am just excited that the year is coming to a close. This morning I woke up feeling very thankful to God. He has been so faithful, the highlight being seeing Samara and us through the surgery. We saw miracles and favour. He helped us raise funds, he helped us get to Miot Hospitals safely, He took baby gal through the surgery and the recovery process was amazing and fast. We experienced such favour in the hospital like we stayed in one of the best rooms fro the 15days we were there, the nurses, doctors and support staff were friendly and made our stay much better. So am just happy to say that God is faithful and He carries us through the hard times in our lives. Only after we have gone through do we look back and declare that it was by His grace, mercies and goodness that we have passed the hurdles. Hope you will be encouraged to know that even when people do not seem to understand or care enough or as you would want...

I studied International Business Administration and majored in marketing while doing my undergraduate. We did Intercultural communication and despite enjoying the class, at the time I wasn't sure where we would apply the lessons learned. Here I am many years later and really appreciating what was taught. Do you recall learning how different cultures/countries have major differences in their attitudes towards time, business, communication i.e. like some may want to be so close while talking to you, while others prefer to be given space, for others business meetings are punctual while some they are delayed etc. Anyways, last month we had taken baby girl for surgery in India and just before we left, I got a chance to do some shopping for our kids shop. I was lucky to have a taxi guy take me around and even help translate for me where need be.One store agreed to keep the luggage for us on the basis that someone would collect the boxes and send them to Mumbai on my behalf. Before ...

Isolation is one thing am looking forward to winding up. After baby gal's surgery we were advised by the surgeon to keep Samara away from public places and interactions with many people for about 8 weeks. This is because despite the top of the scar having healed, the bone structure within takes about 8 weeks to heal and hence exposing her to public would mean catching things like flus which would strain her or her being carried by many people in different postures would not be too good for her healing. Think there is the theory and the practical. When we came back, it was exciting to tell people we were back but the next hurdle was to tell them that we would love them to meet baby gal but for her health and healing process, we have to keep her home for another 6 or so weeks. Quite hard it is/was. Anyways we had a scary experience because we arrived on Friday and maybe due to the travel , change of diet and weather, baby gal started running a fever on Saturday night and early Sund...

I was reading one of the blogs I follow and this mum just hit the nail on the head on how congenital heart defects or any disease for that matter affect your relationships. I couldn't help but agree with her on so many issues. You can read more as she shares her experience, struggles and victories on http://whenlifehandsyouabrokenheart.blogspot.com/2011/02/every-heart-has-story-blog-event.html . When I read what she has had to go through, I just tell God thank you for carrying us through what baby gal had. It was such great news and brought tears to our eyes when the surgeon told us, forget about heart issues, your girl will live a normal life. I have been asking myself is this what normal life means? To see the echo scan show the four chambers and though we didn't realise it, it feels so peaceful and have this joy within. Normal means not worrying much if she sweats alot or snores at night. Baby gal didn't even go through half what heart babies go through yet it was to...

This morning, am not sure what I was doing but baby girl unleashed two new words 'stop it'. I was so tickled and shocked because seems like she has just been absorbing all the words that she hears us speak and is now generously speaking them out. That calls for us to check our manners and words. Talking of which, I have been using public transport and I have noticed so much anger and frustration among drivers on the road. Only yesterday evening did i hear the driver of the car/matatu  I was in abuse another driver  'cow/ng'ombe' for almost hitting us. Then today, in a different bus, we just had the driver daring another man in a smaller vehicle to come out and fight. We were not all sure what had caused the drama but the other guy came out but this driver just abused him again same word 'cow/ng'ombe' and I wondered is that the new word in public transport?  New or not, I think people need to address their issues in a better way..imagine a child in that b...

This morning am thankful for the many milestones baby gal has achieved. She finally stopped breastfeeding and is inhaling a whole packet of milk per day. She has gone back to sleeping in her room throughout the night. She sits at the table  for breakfast on a raised chair and takes tea and dinner she sometimes insists of feeding herself. One thing am so glad about is that she is trying to make her sentences and her singing is getting stronger by the say and she amazes us. We are thankful to God for everything. I didn't know there was such peace and joy that one can feel inside. Thank you Lord.

Who ever tells a Kenyan how to run a business in Kenya? Did you know that you need to register your business name with City Council? Did you also know that you need a permit to run the business annually? Oh well thought we had totally complied until Nairobi City Council visited us and we were circulated for other requirements like every office needs to have a fire extinguisher..now the process of getting there is you go to city council pay then walk to Tom Mboya street to the fire brigade guys pick them or arrange for their transport to your office then they certify your office is safe etc etc..however am told there are some suppliers of the fire extinguishers who can do this on your behalf..as you can  tell I haven't complied yet. Kenya Revenue Authority, your company needs a PIN Number and while registering online ensure that you apply for VAT, if you have employees Pay As you Earn (PAYE) and NSSF and NHIF. Yeah doing business here really calls for us to be educated more. We s...

Today, exactly 1 month after the surgery on October 14th, we have so much to be thankful for. I thank God that baby girl is doing great, has been on her feet, feeding well, gaining weight and one can hardly know what she had to go through. Today, we also celebrate that baby girl has stopped breastfeeding and for the first time since we came back slept a whole night in her room. Before the surgery we had her on a routine and she had moved to her real bed and was excited about it. After the surgery, there was need for reassurance and she woke up endless times at night while in hospital , just to make sure we were there and she started breastfeeding almost through out the night. When we returned she toned down on the breastfeeding and would wake up once during the night. This was very frustrating to me because it took us many steps behind but today she seems to be on her way to independence and am proud of her.Love you so much baby girl. Today, my beloved had to return to work after ...

Atrial septal defect (ASD), is a heart condition that can affect kids. Normal Heart Function To understand an ASD, it helps to know how the heart works. The heart has four chambers. The lower chambers of the heart are called the ventricles: a left ventricle and a right ventricle. The upper chambers are the atria and there are two— a left atrium and a right atrium. You may already know that your heart is a muscle that pumps blood throughout your body. In a person without a heart defect, blue blood that's low in oxygen flows first to the right atrium, then to the right ventricle, and is then pumped to the lungs to receive oxygen. The red oxygen-rich blood then returns to the left atrium, flows from there into the left ventricle, and heads out to the body through the aorta, a large blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the smaller blood vessels in the body. Between the right and left atria is a wall called the septum that...

We received our medical clearance letters from the airline allowing us to travel and I am so thrilled. I must say that once an airline knows you are travelling for medical reasons, they give you some form that needs to be filled and signed by the doctor then sent to their own doctor to clear the patient.This has to be done just one week before travel Infact I shed tears of joy because finally we could see the end. Truth is I didn't even blog after yesterday because we started packing and were doing the countdown to Thursday. I have missed home, it was great walking this journey together as a family but we look forward to healing better from home. I will share afew pictures with you of some friends we made while at the hospital.

Today is Alex’s turn to go tour the town and I baby sit samara. She is really acting up, I think she knows her dad aint here and am so worked up because I need to arrange transport for cargo to be picked yet the fone is not dialing neither sending smses. I am so mad and unfortunately with Sam acting up , I am also letting it out on her. I apologise and tell myself to relax. Its also raining heavily and I cant go to the shop that sold the line to us as they asked me to go. Anyways it stops I carry Sam there and she is heavy now at 9.6kg. They tell me it will be rectified by 2pm and am desperate anyone I ask for their fone has an excuse or state their fone has an issue. So I told my self there isn’t much I can do, so showered samara then she slept. Went down to meet wife of the Kenyan guy and its refreshing to talk to her..We come back to room and baby girl sleeps. The fone finally works and I make my necessary calls and am satisfied. Cant wait to ...