I was drawn to betty by her warm spirit and amazing smile. She lives in Kenya and it's been an absolute pleasure getting to know more Kenyan mum bloggers through her.  She blogs at https://mummyessentialske.com/ and is on IG @mummyessentials_ke 

1.  Please introduce yourself

2. How many kids(with ages) do you have and how long have you been a stay-at-home mum?

I have an interesting journey, first, it was never a decision, my contract with the company I was

working for ended 2 weeks before giving birth, so what happened is I just opted to stay home,

my husband and I never had a sit-down conversation about me being a stay-at-home mom.

However, things changed when we had our second born; two years after our first, we were

going through a financial stretch so after six months with my second born I looked for a job to

help out financially. I was a personal assistant to a medical director (went the total opposite from

my profession) but four months down the line things were not working out with my househelp

and it was just stressful. That is when we sat down as a family and we both agreed that the

wises thing was for me to be home and just try and balance our finances.

  One of the things I've seen in my 3 years of homeschooling in Nigeria is that there are very affordable places to take your kids to.  Sometimes some of the objections you get from parents for not taking their children on adventures is that it's so expensive. I realized that for most places it's usually free to enter for children of young ages and half the price from age 5. 

In this article, I will share with you 9 places you can take your children to that will cost you 2k or less; 

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Jaekel House was formally the residence of the General Manager and was later converted to a senior staff rest house. The building has been renovated and restored by Professor John Godwin in collaboration with the Railway Corporation in 2010.

The building is now a “mini-museum” showcasing photographic archives dating from the 1940s through to 1970s of personalities, places, historical events in pre-and post-independent Nigeria and houses artefacts (tools, equipment, attires, pictures etc) of the old Railway Corporation

What we loved: Mummy loved the history that the place holds, neatly kept and maintained, serene and generally lovely. Kids loved all the train stuff, the old things in the museum, looking at the old pictures, and large space to run around.

What we didn't like: Honestly, there was nothing I didn't like about the place. Gotta give it to the managers of the place! @legacy1995ng

Cost: Kids: 200

Cuddly Ratings: 5 Cuddly loves

2. Millennium Park - Abuja: the biggest park I've ever seen! Millennium Park. The amazing thing is that it's free! I was even more surprised at the level of maintenance and the facility itself, simply amazing. It is located in the Maitama district of the city

3. Abayomi Finnih Park: it's still new, spacious and has a Mini-Zoo and other activities! It is located on the Opebi link bridge in Ikeja

4. Freedom Park: 

You have to pay ₦200 to enter which in my opinion is not bad, there's a museum (which we didn't see), a mini playground, fish pond with beautiful orange fishes, art, the portal Lagos (I didn't quite get the idea of this place, but it sounded cool, you can talk to different people in different locations in the world) we couldn't do the portal thing because the people to talk to were unavailable at the time, there's food and aloooot of history! The place looks averagely maintained.

Watch a full review here

5. Lufasi Park: Lufasi park is an acronym for Lekki Urban Forestry and Animal Shelter [source] located Majek 1st Gate, KM 41, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos, Lekki - Epe expressway is fancy way for saying, it's after LBS, after Novare mall, so be aware of the distance. 

Cost:

6. Muri Okunola park: Muri Okunola Park is located Opposite law school in VI perfect place for a picnic and for your child to run around. 

Cost: Free

7. Agodi gardens - Ibadan: Formerly called Agodi Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Agodi Gardens was created in 1967. The garden was destroyed by the Ogunpa flood disaster in 1980 as most of the animals were swept away by the raging water. The garden was renovated in 2012 by the Oyo State Government and the new Agodi Gardens was reopened in 2014. It is located around the secretariet. It cost 500 for adult and children

Read full review here

8. Ibadan zoo: The University of Ibadan Zoological Garden was established in 1948 primarily as Menagerie to support teaching and research in the Department of Zoology. With time the animal collection grew in number and diversity and the Menagerie gradually became a full fledged Zoo in 1974. It welcomes a large number of visitors from far and near every year.

The University of Ibadan Zoo, like most modern zoos, displays wild animals primarily for the conservation of endangered species, as well as for research purposes and education, and so also for the entertainment of visitors.

The garden is home to a wide array of animals comprising mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. It is located in the university of Ibadan.

Cost: 500 for adult & Children

Full Review here

9. Lekki Conservation: The NCF is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to sustainable development and nature conservation. It also serves as an area of biodiversity conservation and environmental awareness centre. The foundation aims to preserve Nigeria's species and ecosystems, promote sustainability when using natural resources and advocates actions that minimise the impact on the environment and prevent resource wastage. ⠀

 It is located oppositte chevron traffic light on Lekki-epe expressway.

Cost

Children: 200 (5>) Free for below 5

Student: 300

Adult: 1000 

Canopy: 1000 

Read a full review here

10. Children's park and zoo Abuja: 

National Children's Park and Zoo, the maintenance story for this one is not for today, but it's a great space, affordable, quite a number of animals to see and learn about, we didn't get a guide though. It would've been great if the place is well maintained, if they have to take the entry fee abit higher to do that, it will be worth it tbh... But it was great enough for my child to see the wild animals in real life. Their lions are really cute and look so clean! I would go back there if and when I come back! Animals they have Lions, Buffalo, monkeys, rabbits, ostrich, hyena, horse, pony, birds, crocodile, tortoise, donkey, goose, snake

Cost: it's ₦400 for adults ₦200 for children above 3, free for children below 3.

Bonu: Nike Art Gallery: Nike art gallery is located at Elegusi traffic light in Lekki. It is free but you have to sign an undertaking of some sort if you want to take your kids in. 

1.  Please introduce yourself

Hi, my name is Adesola Lajuwomi. I’m 31. I actually dislike the term sahm because me and my kids are rarely ever at home. We unschool and learn through exploration. We moved from the UK to Nigeria in 2019 and haven’t looked back since!

I have 2 children. 3yrs and 14 months. I’ve been a full-time mum since my son was born. 

I was a fashion designer. Studied fashion and marketing at uni, showed a collection at Lagos Fashion Week. When I returned to the UK I was making custom orders from home. I was still sewing until I was around 8 months pregnant with my firstborn and my back had had enough lol. 

It was a battle truly. Society makes you feel like you have to do both now and I’d grown up in a household where my mum was the breadwinner and had multiple jobs. My husband and I had this conversation long before we got married about what we wanted our family roles and responsibilities to be. We had decided on a homeschooling route to instill the right foundation in our kids.

Moving to Abuja meant leaving all my family and friends in the UK. In the past 2 years, I’ve not had 1 day out without carrying my kids. No date night out with hubby cuz there’s no one I’d trust to leave my babies with. I don’t really see it as a challenge, I like to put things in perspective. This is just another season/phase of life for us to embrace as these young people really do grow up so quickly. 

I love the flexibility it brings. I love that we can enjoy our time together, that I can be fully present in observing their growth, interests, learning. It’s such a beautiful thing. I love that we can do things together like cooking, cleaning, going to the bank, etc. and at the same time they are learning valuable life skills.

I haven’t had to make money because we live within our means. We like to live by our priorities and values. My biggest priorities being health and making memories with my family. So I don’t joke with budgeting for healthy food (which is usually more expensive) and planning our outings. 

8. How do you currently make money (if you do)? 

I’m currently not making a dime of my own. Lol. My husband sends me his salary and I plan the house accordingly each month. He takes a percentage to cover his personal expenditures like car, golf, airtime. I budget for everything from house maintenance to our weekend family outings and it works for us. 

The title stayathome is just wrong in this day and age. Especially in Nigeria where a lot of people have house helps most will think what are you doing all day if you are not cooking or cleaning.  I have help but still, cook all our meals. My kids help with chores as I don’t want them to grow up not being able to do simple things for themselves. 

Not really, most likely because we moved away from everyone who could comment lol. The main consensus was around having my own money “just in case”. I’m sorry but I honestly don’t think God can do great things in your life if you stay in that negative mindset of what if things don’t work out. 

Sometimes you’ll see things on social media that make you question am I doing enough, am I doing the best by my kids. The reality is social media is a perfectly crafted picture. Nothing more, nothing less. I’ve unfollowed a lot of “perfect people or families” for my own peace of mind. I see my kids living their best life and I’m grateful to be able to guide them as best I can. 

It’s impossible without a supportive partner. If you are both not 100% in this decision then you will consistently be battling with the notion that you need to do everything. It’s not possible to put your all in multiple avenues. One will suffer. 

I’ve found that you don’t have to be by yourself for self-care. We love eating out and trying different foods. I actually love spending time and have lots of fun with my kids. Every day is an adventure. They’ll come with me to the hair salon or nail bar the same way I’ll go with them to the park or zoo. 

Have a proper conversation with your partner. It’s a decision that you both have to fully commit to. Discuss what will have to give if you don’t have 2 salaries, budget and plan. What are your priorities as a family? 

Sometimes you may doubt yourself but follow your heart, trust God and live every day full of purpose.  

Are you a stay at home mum and would love to share your journey with us? Please send a mail to thecuddleblog@gmail.com stating your interest.