BERRY VLOG: Dark-Skinned Mamas, Light-Skinned Kids

Have I ever shared on the blog that I once met a man who refused to believe Little Miss Cocoa is my child? As in, he argued with me for 30 minutes, insisting that my sister is her mother. All this because I'm dark-skinned and Cocoa is light-skinned, just like my sister and her children. Do your kids look different from you? So much so that people feel the need to comment and ask if you're sure your children are yours? Are you dark-skinned with light-skinned children, or vice versa? 

In this video, I chat with Remi Makanjuola of @GraceToParent and we share our thoughts on responding to questions and comments we have received from strangers, friends and family alike. We also talk about how we plan to teach our children that beauty comes from within and the color of your skin should not define your worth.

BERRY VLOG: High Ponytail on 4C Natural Hair Tutorial

It's been ages since I put up a hair post, much less a hair style tutorial. But today, I'm sharing how I did a very quick and easy High Ponytail style on my natural hair. It's also a protective style as the ends of my hair are tucked away. You already know that last year I cut my hair into a Tapered Cut (and also shared why). My hair has grown out a little faster than I anticipated, and I don't feel like I really played around with the shorter style. It's okay though, moving on. I hope you enjoy this short tutorial, and gives you some ideas on how to style your natural hair. BTW, I also played around with the High Ponytail, so there are 2 bonus styles at the end!

Ten Tips for Reading with Toddlers

I used to worry a little bit about building a reading habit for my baby. I read and heard many times that you should start reading to your baby while pregnant, and every day after they're born to help them discover a love for reading. I had a little bit of a rough start and had some mum guilt festering below the surface, but thankfully, my toddler loves to read!

BERRY VLOG - Random Questions with Verastic!

I finally met Vera, whose blog I have followed for the past few years, in December. When she told me she would be in Atlanta during Christmas, I immediately jumped at the chance to stop by for a visit with her. Little Miss Cocoa and Ada Verastic were friendly towards each other, and Vera and I talked like we were old friends. I thought it would be nice to film a video with her - I'd like to do more collaboration videos this year, and we had a blast answering the questions from the 300 Writing Prompts journal (remember when I tried to make it a regular series, called BERRY WRITES on the blog?). Anyway, I hope you enjoy our video.

Have a great weekend!

BERRY VLOG: Money Mistakes and Lessons of 2018

If anyone had told me that I would be in more debt at the end of this year than last year, I would have rolled my eyes and dismissed them. After the amount of debt that was sprung on me last year, I promised myself that I would be more vigilant with my finances this year. Alas, I was more vigilant, BUT I still made some mistakes that put me thousands of dollars in more debt. Typically, I would be wailing and crying about how much money I owe (thank God for payment plans by the way), but I've finally come to the realization that I can learn from my mistakes and correct them going forward. In this video, sponsored by Clever Girl Finance, I shared what those mistakes were and the lessons I've learned regarding money in 2018.

Clever Girl Finance is currently running a sale. If you sign up for the annual membership program, you get a whopping 30% off! But hurry, because you must sign up before January 5th. Find out more about the Clever Girl Finance program here.

Please LIKE and SHARE the video, and also SUBSCRIBE to my Youtube channel!!!!!!!

Thank you. I love you almost as much as ripe plantain.

BERRY VLOG - Mummy Tag with Cocoa

Hi there!!!!

I have a new FUNNY video up on my YouTube channel, and my most favorite guest, Cocoa is featured quite prominently! Check it out below and make sure to LIKE, SHARE and pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease SUBSCRIBE to my channel!

BERRY VLOG - 12 Tips for Traveling with a Baby or Toddler

Does traveling with a baby sound like a hassle? I'm not going to lie... IT IS! But I've shared 12 tips garnered from traveling with my baby (now toddler) in the past year. I have taken Cocoa on 2 road trips, 4 domestic round trip flights, 1 round trip long haul international flight, and even gone on a cruise. She's visited 4 countries so far - Nigeria, Honduras, Mexico and the Bahamas. So check out this video and you might learn something that will make traveling with your baby or toddler on your next trip, just a little smoother!

BERRY VLOG: What I Have Learned About Motherhood

Hi there!

Thank God it's Friday! And since it's Friday, I thought I'd give you something fun to watch this weekend. I have committed to at least 1 blog post every week, and 2 Youtube videos per month. This is the second video for September and I shared 10 things I've learned since I became a mother. But guess who else features in the video - COCOA!!! It's a really fun video and I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing her antics while I try to film - this video was my third attempt to film and I'm happy with the results. Please don't forget to LIKE the video, but most importantly, SUBSCRIBE!

Thanks a bunch!

I hope you enjoyed the video. Have a pretty weekend!

BERRY VLOG - Na Me Suffer Pass

What's up everyone? Weekend is here finally!!!!!

Today I'm sharing my latest Youtube video where I chit chat about how sometimes when you're feeling down and telling someone about your problems, they tend to downplay them. For instance, they'll tell you about someone else who's worse off than you, or tell you that you should even be happy about one thing or another. They don't really let you feel your emotions, and kinda brush you off.

I'm not saying anyone should wallow in their sadness or despair, but sometimes you just need to be able to acknowledge how you feel and talk about stuff, to start the process of letting it go. So without further ado, here's my video on "Na Me Suffer Pass!"

Please make sure you subscribe to my channel today. I'm committing to at least 2 videos a month, and I'd gladly take suggestions on topics to cover :)

BERRY VLOG - Dear Womb Watchers

Hey y'all,

I just posted this video on Youtube in response to a post I saw on Instagram. @Firsttimemumdotcom posted questions from her readers regarding how to reply people who make invasive comments and ask rude questions about when they're going to have their first, second or hundredth children. I really just don't understand why anyone feels the need to ask those kinda questions directly, or out loud. Yeah, you may be curious, but how about you just keep your curiosity to yourself? I know a lot of people mean well, but more often than not, you're making the woman/couple uncomfortable. You don't know what their situation is so please just stop!

BERRY VLOG - My Skincare Routine

One of the few things I miss about being pregnant is "the glow." As in, my skin was just yummy! A lot of pregnant women complain about their faces getting darker, but I personally didn't notice it until AFTER I gave birth to Baby Cocoa. From what I remember, my skin was the best it ever looked. Maybe it was due to being pregnant, or because I was forced to drink water, or my incorporating a skincare regimen. I mean, I was on bed rest, so I didn't have much to do anyways.

BERRY VLOG - Why I Cut My Hair

It's been almost 2 weeks since I took the plunge and cut off a lot of my hair. I must admit that once or twice since then, I have wondered whether I made the right choice. But for the most part, I like my short hair. I can just wash it and go - all I need to do is fluff it with my fingers.

BERRY VLOG - I cut my Natural Hair

They say a woman's hair is her crowning glory. Well, this past weekend, I tapered that glory! If you follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (@BerryDakara), then you have already seen the new me!

Check out the short video of me at the salon :)

BERRY VLOG - Happy New Year

Hey y'all. In my attempt to get back to creating content and putting up posts and videos, I had to remind myself to just do it. I initially wanted to make sure that my first video in a long time would be made under "perfect" circumstances - peace and quiet in the house, makeup done, better lighting, etc. But then I realized I was just looking for excuses. Life isn't perfect and as much as I would like to have all the graphics and interior design back-drops that everyone on Youtube has, that's just not my situation right now. I'll improve with time but I needed to simply start again. And so here's my first video of the year - with a special guest!

Don't forget to tune in to Tea With Cubes today at 4pm EST (10pm Nigerian time). We go live on Instagram and Facebook - @teawithcubes so follow us!

BERRY VLOG - Pregnancy Reveal

When I found out I was pregnant, the very first person I told was Cakes. Then we proceeded to tell our mothers, who were both understandably excited. I considered telling my immediate younger sister, but came up with a plan to reveal all as a Christmas present! I wasn't sure if I could really hide my pregnancy and keep it a secret for basically a whole month, but I did and the pregnancy reveal video has been making waves and causing tears all over. If you haven't seen it, make sure to grab a tissue :D

BERRY VLOG: Pregnancy Tag

WELCOME TO JULY!!!!! Hehe, my estimated date of delivery of Baby Cocoa was supposed to be the 23rd of this month.

Around halfway through my pregnancy, I saw a Pregnancy Tag post online and thought it would be fun to answer some of the questions on my Youtube channel (Have you subscribed yet?). Check out my answers to some of the questions like how I found out we were pregnant, what my cravings were and more!

Please don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel, and like my videos!

Simple Natural Hairstyles

One of my goals this year was to have my natural hair out more. One of the easiest styles to do and maintain was this natural hair bun, which I shared last year. But of course I get bored, so while I switch it up with wearing wigs or doing other protective styles, I still have other natural hair styles I do. I especially like these styles because they are simple and very quick to do. 

BERRY VLOG: Invade My Privacy Tag

Within the last few weeks, I've seen a couple of other Youtubers do this tag, and I thought it would be fun to do it as well. I enjoy Youtube tags because they are very easy to do - which makes for easy editing!

I hope you enjoy the video, and please don't forget to LIKE the video (push the thumbs up icon) and subscribe to my channel!!! Tenks a bunsh!

You can always check out my other videos via the Youtube tab above :)

BTW it's my birthday on Monday!!!! To my Nigerian, UK and US readers, as usual, you're welcome for the holiday I've given to you for my birthday :D Feel free to have a glass of wine since I can't have any :p

BERRY VLOG - Mama Berry Chit Chat

Tomorrow is Mothers Day in America, and I thought it was a nice time to share this chat I had with my mum about Motherhood and Pregnancy. I know you guys will be distracted by my mum's dazzling beauty :p My dad really picked well. I hope you enjoy the video!

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

BERRY VLOG: Conversations With My Grandpa - Episode 1

Hey there,

I mentioned in my midweek post that my siblings and I chatted with my grandfather, and he told us the reasons and meanings behind our names. If you're already subscribed to my Youtube channel, then you got the notification already. If you're not subscribed, whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy not?!?!?!?!? Please subscribe, if not, I'll hide #BabyCocoa's photos from only you when I share them :p

Anyways, check out the first episode of my Conversations with my Grandpa below.

I hope you're having a great weekend so far! YAY, May is around the corner and you know what that means... my birthday is in exactly 1 MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!