Easter long weekend at the beeeeeech

So we flew to Diani on the South Coast for Easter. We stayed in the Pinewood hotel as its right next door to Mike and Sabine's place so that we could bother them all weekend.

Nic got sick before we went though - he got a chest infection which turned into laryngitis. So we had a very squeaky baby for the duration of the holiday - at least we didn't get woken up by his screaming.... poor thing couldn't even get a wail out! He was quite bad at one stage though and we were worried... but our doc had assured us that it would pass. And that there was nothing we could give him except saline nose drops and calpol. He said the humid sea air would be good for him. Nic was still in a good mood for most of the holiday - bless his cotton socks!

So we'd eat breakfast at our hotel and let Nic have his 9am to 10am sleep, then we'd mosey over to Mike and Sabines for the day. Elena and Kiki are just great with Nic - they would take him walking all round the house and garden. Then they'd entertain him on the beach... then we'd all go swimming in the pool. He had his lunchtime 2 hour sleep in Julia's room... friends who were staying with Mike and Sabine. They have a 3 year old and a 6 year old. So we used their cot - perfect! At 6pm we'd go back to the hotel to bath Nic and give him his bedtime bottle. Let him fall asleep then we'd shower and change etc then carry the sleeping angel back over the Mike and Sabines so we could enjoy dinner and wine with them! Nic slept perfectly, upstairs on the big bed surrounded by pillows. Then we'd carry him back again at the end of the evening. I don't think there is anything as special as carrying your sleeping child. I just loved that!

On Easter Sunday, other friends joined us at Sabines' - so there were 11 kids and just as many adults. It was a bit chaotic with all those kids, especially as they were mostly girls who all wanted to hold the baby. There was a one and a half year old girl who was a nightmare- her screaming kept making Nico cry!
We had a very festive Easter dinner though with loadsa laughs, we have such great friends here. And boy do we love the Kenyan coast.


We took LOADS of photos as usual...

Birthday parties

So Nic went to his first birthday party last friday. A friend of mine's little girl, Siara, turned one. It was also my first birthday party where I had a kid of my own.
I did it in true kenyan style too and took our nanny! Ha ha!
I would never have taken her but she REALLY wanted to go cos her best friend (Debbie's nanny) was going to be there.
So it was a lovely party spent drinking mojitos with the other relaxed moms! Gotta LOVE africa!


Then on the Saturday night we had everyone around to our house for our birthdays... Benedikt turned 34 on Saturday. Unfortunately I am still older than him.
We had such a cool group of people here and everyone drank plenty thanks to my excellent hostessing skills. Benedikt cooked up a storm like he always does and everyone had a REALLY good time. Nicolas slept like an angel above us, not bothered by all the noise! Bless.

Ok so like our wedding is only 6 weeks away. Yikesarama! We are very busy planning all the smaller details.
Dress is done. Waiting for veil. And trying to find shoes - this is proving to be very difficult.
I've found a DJ. And lady to make our cake. And our caterer is now booked and we're VERY happy with him. Flowers, table decorations and name cards are planned. Lighting is taken care of. Flight and airport logistics are almost sorted. (Boy this is going to be one FULL house!)
Hen and stag party plans are going full steam. And drinks have been purchased.
SO not worried about things though. With MR SUPER DUPER organsied as my fiance, plus all the family thats going to be around, everything will get done I know it.
Its going to look beautiful and be SUCH a fun day. I cant wait!

Its my birthday!

So its my birthday tomorrow. I will be thirty bloody five. When did I even become thirty four?
I'm sure I will get LOADS of calls and messages to make me feel very loved. AHEM! Benedikt and I are going for dinner on Friday night and we're having a mini party on Saturday night at our house with about 2000 friends. Its Benedikts birthday on Saturday.

We went to our good friends, Hem and Paul's, party last weekend. And boy was it debaucherous... the guys are still recovering. So our party will probably be quite tame. I don't think I've ever seen Benedikt that drunk! And Paul had to be carried home legless and vomiting!
Thank goodness Nicolas slept through the night that night - or perhaps he didn't and we just didn't hear him.

Speaking of whom, I've renamed him to Cabbage Patch Kid. See the similarity?











We were avidly following the Cape Epic last week... Man it was exciting. I was SO happy that Burry and Christoph won. Good show. We had 2 very good friends from here that did it too.... boy did Alex suffer! Can't wait to hear his tales. Benedikt and I were very happy to be watching from the couch and not slogging away up the sandy rocky climbs all day in the unrelenting heat.

So I've had no car for the last 3 weeks which has been fun. Not. The fuel pump packed up again and I have to wait for a part from Dubai. So I'm cycling everywhere! Been cycling to yoga and to the gym and to the doctors (for vaccinations) and to the shops. In the beginning it was a novelty but now its getting tiresome. I want my car back dammit! I miss taking Nic swimming too.
At least I am getting LOADS of work done.

Breaking news: I now weigh under 60kgs! 59.9 to be exact ;-) I haven't weighed under 60 for at least 2 years! I'm so bloody excited. Except my jelly belly is still bloody there would you believe it. Guess I only have myself to blame for eating all that chocolate when I was pregnant and putting on 20kgs and stretching my mid section to hell and back.
I'm pretty sure I am losing weight thanks to running (and cycling everywhere!). A lovely friend of mine is now running with me and she needs to train for Lewa which is a tough 21km race in June. So together we are upping our mileage each week. I also run to the forest and back which adds on an extra 4kms so I do between 15 and 20kms 3 times a week.
Also being vegan now I don't eat any more cakes or biscuits. Even most sweets have gelatin in them which is made from animals bones... although I have found some candy which is animal product free THANK GOODNESS. I love sweets too much.

5 great days at the beach

So we've just come back from another mini break - a long weekend in Kilifi. We stayed in the Kilifi bay hotel which is next door but 2 to the house where we are having our wedding in May.
One of the reasons we went was to organise catering for our wedding by the hotel - but after just a couple of meals there we realised we didnt want them to do our catering! The food really wasnt great. And the hotel in general is a bit old has a few problems. So we decided not to use them afterall. We have a friend here in Nairobi who will probably do it now - he seems great so far and his food is really yummy.
We also went to check out our wedding venue again - its SUCH a beautiful house. I fell in love with it all over again. I'm getting really excited for our wedding week at the beach! Man its going to be fun.
Benedikt took his kite surfer and all the equipment but unfortunately there was never enough wind. Such a pity.
So we really just chilled for the rest of the time and thoroughly enjoyed spending so much time with Nicolas. Man he is a cute baby. And so happy and easy.
Well, actually he did get a bit cranky in the heat, but then we'd just take him to the air conditioned room where he'd perk up as he tried to climb up all the furniture.
But it really was special it being just us 3... we had a lovely family holiday.

Its a miracle!

Ha ha, our nanny says its a miracle that Nicolas is now pulling himself to standing. And of course we agree.
He is really getting strong legs now its cool to see him moving around vertically! While holding onto something of course.

Blowing raspberries:

Bath time:


So this winning thing is getting boring now. I won a triathlon last Sunday! Ok, yes it was a mini tri... and there were only a few ladies... but still!
I have become a useless swimmer in my adult life (I dont know what happened - I used to be an ok swimmer?) and I swam like a granny. I had to take a break at the end of each length! And it was just a 200m swim for goodness sake. The cycle was 10km and the run was 4km. I did it all in 52mins I think... Benedikt did it in 47mins and won the mens section! He was well chuffed. Our good friend Mike was his main competitor and is a seriously good swimmer, so Benedikt raced like a mad man on the bike and in the run. He was sore all week this week!
So ja, I am now going to swim more often. Like this weekend for example when we go to the beach - woohoo! Can't wait to have these 5 days off. I have really been working hard lately. Really long hours to get a big job on one particular site done... and I have 4 or 5 more new sites to get done before our wedding in May - yikes!

One of Nicolas's first attempts (now he is a dab hand):

Kakuzi

So I won another mtb race! Woohoo! I'm getting rich :-)
(Pity there aren't any more races until August or something)
Kakuzi was a very very cool 50km route with everything in it - technical in places and very steep climbs, fast flowing single track and river crossings. Was loads of fun and I rode with 2 great guys most of the time... until they dropped me 2kms before the finish!

Quinoa

So Quinoa (pronounced Keenwa) is my new favorite food. Can't believe I've only discovered it now dammit, its amazing. It contains all 9 essential amino acids, plus iron and calcium, B vitamins, vitamin E, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, copper, manganese, and zinc! AND its gluten free. And its full of fiber.
Its obviously cholestrol free and its low in calories. It also contains phytonutrients which help fight cancer etc.
And it tastes good. Similar to cous cous in texture etc but it has a way more nutty flavour.
Do you get a more perfect food? NO!
Well actually soya beans are possibly as perfect :-)
And the best is a health shop here (which is a mission to get to) sells quinoa - woohoo! It costs 500 kenyan shillings (R50) for 500grams so its not cheap but its not crazy expensive that we can't get it. So I am very happy! We're going to be eating it for breakfast, lunch and supper :-)
I've even started feeding it to Nic. Its digested very easily as it is a complex carbohydrate, and he is ready for protein now that he is 7 months old.

Other news is that wedding planning is now going full steam. We have chosen our wedding rings, my frock is in for alterations, we are about to go to Kilifi to suss out the venue and the catering etc. And to try and find a DJ and a mazungu hairdresser in the little dorp. We've been booking everyones flights to the beach and organising accommodation here in Nairobi. Its all very exciting - I can't wait for our wedding week! Gonna be such fun being on holiday with EVERYONE.

Just a pity work is getting the way a little :-) I'm swamped at the moment with sites to do. Am booked up till the wedding! Its good of course, but is stressing me out a bit too. Its hard balancing Nicolas, my sport, work, general admin and wedding plans!