threelilprincesses.com

Author: Kellie O’Brien

  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #50: Let’s Celebrate

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #50: Let’s Celebrate

    I’ve been a bit quiet this week. Let’s blame this little sucker.

    gobsmacker

    However, it’s time to celebrate now. We’ve marked 50 Aussie Giveaway Linkups, which means we’ve NEARLY been going for one whole year. Really? Woohoo! 

    I’ve taken the sucker out now to let you know the linky is live, so get licking – I mean linking and clicking – to win some great giveaways.

    Also, expect plenty of new content on the blog this week. Yes, I’ve been busy.

    If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:

    1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
    2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents.
    3. Grab the button below to add to your post.
    4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.

    Start entering the giveaways! Entry is at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for unfulfilled prizes or a blogger/business not abiding by their own terms and conditions.



    Aussie Giveaway Linky
    Hosted by Three Lil Princesses



  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #49: Mother’s Day Edition

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #49: Mother’s Day Edition

    Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who either:

    • have an alien-like creature in your belly,
    • have had your body turned inside out in front of an audience, or
    • have taken possession of something that believes the contents of its nose will form the most nutritious meal of the day.

    I hope you all have the most wonderful day today and are surrounded by love.

    To those of you who have also kissed an angel goodbye, our thoughts are with you today.

    Mother's Day quote

    What is in store for your Mother’s Day today? Do you have any rituals? I’ll be sleeping in!

    If you haven’t yet bought your mum a Mother’s Day gift, or if you want to spoil yourself because someone else forgot, make sure to visit this page. Then get clicking to score something else nice for yourself or your family in the linky below.

    If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:

    1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
    2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents.
    3. Grab the button below to add to your post.
    4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.

    Start entering the giveaways! Entry is at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for unfulfilled prizes or a blogger/business not abiding by their own terms and conditions.

     



    Aussie Giveaway Linky
    Hosted by Three Lil Princesses



  • Antenatal classes enough to make you pale

    Antenatal classes enough to make you pale

    On Monday I released a special Mother’s Day price of $5 (usually $12.95) for the Only Hearts Should Be Worn On Sleeves: The Snotty Truth About Motherhood ebook. There’s only three more days to grab a copy before it reverts back to the old price here.

    Here’s a sneak peek inside the ebook to give you an idea of what it’s all about:

    Antenatal classes enough to make you pale

    Only Hearts Should Be Worn On Sleeves artwork

    September 19
    DUBBED ‘‘huff and puff’’ sessions by some, antenatal classes have obviously come a long way from their earlier days. Well, for starters, there’s no huffing or puffing any more. For me, the scary part was who you’re going to get in your class. And thankfully, we had a good group.
    For my husband, the scary part was having to see anything gory. And if you’re wondering, yes he will be at the birth, even if the entire time is spent trying to get colour back into his face.
    The first glimpse of pasty-coloured skin actually came courtesy of that antenatal class. While he avoided having to watch any gory videos or see pictures of the insides of other women, he was presented with a nice, fresh placenta an hour into the first day. Lovely.
    Having seen the insides of sheep and cows put in the wheelbarrow and then buried on Pop’s farm, a placenta was a piece of cake for me. Just not as tasty.
    For city slicker husbands there was lots of deep breathing (ah, so now I understand why they call them ‘‘huff and puff’’ classes). And the faces turned a lighter shade of pale when one woman started mentioning how some cultures fry up their placentas so the husbands could eat them. Hence the supper provided that night was left largely untouched.
    For me, the stomach-turning moment was the crochet hook-looking implement they’ll use to pop my insides if they don’t pop themselves. All of a sudden I swear someone turned the room temperature up  and I was desperate for fresh air.
    Overall, the antenatal classes provided a great insight of what’s to come and how to cope during labour. The most interesting moment though was hearing the mother of one pregnant woman saying how good she thought women had it nowadays. So good, in fact, she wouldn’t mind going through the labour all over again. Can’t be that bad then, can it? Well, can it?

    What do you remember about your antenatal classes?

  • A titillating conversation starter

    A titillating conversation starter

    Two weeks ago I had a client meeting in town. While waiting, the front counter lady did a double take and then asked if I was the lady who had written about her “girls’’ (cups hands around “her girls’’) in the newspaper that day.

    Not the kind of question I was expecting while I was in work mode, but what a wonderful conversation starter.

    So, to give you a little ice breaker for next time we meet, here’s that column which is also from the Only Hearts Should Be Worn On Sleeves ebook.

    Which, by the way, has a special Mother’s Day price until Sunday of $5 (usually $12.95). It’s ideal if you’re looking for a last-minute Mother’s Day gifts or something unique for a friend’s birthday. Just visit the ebook page to learn more.

    Only Hearts Should Be Worn On Sleeves ebookDads learn to bottle up fear of detachment

    September 5

    One morning last week I awoke to find what looked like cartoon drawings of two fried eggs on my good white nightie. After running through a million scenarios, from my husband ‘‘sleep drawing’’ to me eating in my sleep, it eventually dawned on me — the ‘‘girls’’ had leaked.

    Having grown up on a dairy farm at Riana — OK, it was a hobby farm and our milking capacity was two cows — I know all about where milk comes from. But nothing prepares you for the shock of seeing liquid coming out of your own mammary glands. It’s insane. Since then, I’ve had to wear nursing pads to bed — I’m now wearing more padding than Glenn McGrath going out to bat.

    It got me thinking about the whole feeding process and how soon these once objects of desire may need to be backed up to a machine ready to be pumped dry. Yes kids, milk doesn’t come from a carton.

    I also know how to do it by hand if the ‘‘damn machine’’ (dad’s words) breaks down again. Actually, that thought alone has inspired me to buy the best, most expensive equipment.

    The breast pump — or milking machine as I’ve named it — is an automatic little doodackie. I start pumping, it picks up my rhythm and then takes over. Genius.

    Except that I have visions of it latching on too tightly, sucking out of control and my husband trying to yank it off my chest. Anyway. . .

    The hardest part of becoming a dad must surely be having to relinquish control over your wife’s ‘‘girls’’.

    Yes, they belong to the baby now. Even more difficult must be the fact they’re larger than they’ll ever be.

    Oh, the torture. In fact, my bras (now sized at the opposite end of the alphabet) are big enough for me to camp under. Ah well, at least on our camping adventures we’d never run out of milk.

    Read more extracts from the ebook.

    Only Hearts Should Be Worn On Sleeves: The Snotty Truth About Motherhood

    Can you relate to any of this?

  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #48: mini break

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #48: mini break

    Hi, we’re not here at the moment. Please, leave a message and we’ll return your comment as soon as possible.

    Poncho
    Li'l Holly will NOT be wearing this white poncho to Agfest.

    As this post goes live, we’ll be on our way home from a mini break in Launceston (pronounced Lon-ses-ton for the non-Taswegians), in Tasmania’s North. We were a little overdue for a break, so we decided The Bloke in The Shed should get his first taste of Tasmania’s largest agricultural show Agfest. I’m sure it will inspire some riveting read this week about big tractors, Blundstone boots and fleecy-lined Japaras.

    Here’s 5 things I love about a mini break:

    1. Someone else can make the bed for a change. Or just make the bed full stop.
    2. If I feel like food, I can dial for it and it’s not pizza.
    3. I get to increase my collection of mini soaps and shampoos (I’ve been told this is bad etiquette. But seriously, who doesn’t do it? Apart from people who own hotels).
    4. There’s a mini bar. Not that I can ever afford it. Or actually ever feel like Bourbon.
    5. Someone else does the cleaning which, if you’ve ever looked under our dining room table, is a full-time job. If you actually decide to clean, of course.

    What do you like about mini breaks? Have you been on one lately? Maybe there’s one in the linky below. Maybe.

    If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:

    1. Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately. If you need to delete it, hover over your link, wait until the red “x’’ appears and click.
    2. Giveaways must be open to Australian residents.
    3. Grab the button below to add to your post.
    4. A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.

    Start entering the giveaways! Entry is at your own risk. We do not take responsibility for unfulfilled prizes or a blogger/business not abiding by their own terms and conditions.



    Aussie Giveaway Linky
    Hosted by Three Lil Princesses



  • Beautiful last-minute Mother’s Day gift ideas (+ giveaway valued just under $400)

    Beautiful last-minute Mother’s Day gift ideas (+ giveaway valued just under $400)

    Last Mother’s Day I got this beautiful plate of food for breakfast.

    We love you

    Initially, I thought it was a plate of fruit with excrement on it. You know, some sort of joke. It turns out, after uploading the photo to the blog, it’s a We Love You written in chocolate and mandarin.  I feel a tad bad for criticising my little Masterchefs now.

    This year, I’m hoping for something a little more beautiful. In fact, here’s my little wish list:

    Rose gold Swarovski Crystal edge pendant, I Love You & Baby Feet coin and single ball chain from InnerPower (RRP: $255)

    InnerPower

    There is such a heartwarming story behind InnerPower. Sonia Merlino, at age 24 and pregnant with her first child, was told by her parents she was adopted. Her mother told her that as she passed Sonia’s cot Sonia wriggled her hand out of her tightly wrapped muslin as if to say `pick me’. Sonia’s mother walked past her cot – but soon turned around. “Then she picked me up and, so she says, ran for her life,’’ Sonia said. It was the start of a special bond between her and her mother – the woman who is her support and inspiration for her business.

    InnerPower pendant

    The double sided I Love You and Baby Feet coin (top photo)is enclosed in a Swarovski Crystal edge pendant (above) and thread on a matching single ball chain

    InnerPower chain

    and is just perfect for new mums on Mother’s Day. What I really love about the three-piece collection is that you can customise it to suit your style or mood by adding a different pendant, coin or chain each day. There are over 100 coins on the website at the moment, 12 pendants and many options for chains. Sonia herself admits to changing from leather to ribbon and even solid choker chains to mix it up.

    For more information, visit www.innerpower.net.au and make sure you follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

    ***

    Nana Huchy full apron with stripe ($33) and set of three linen tea towels with stripe ($37.50)

    Nana Huchy apron

    As Nana Huchy owner Lucy Morrison put it, the apron is good enough to wear to the table. I have to agree. I’ve been fortunate enough to be sent the full apron with stripe and set of three tea towels and they’re exquisite. It’s made of linen, features a blue stripe at the side, a pocket at the front and has been superbly designed. I just love the French classic colour scheme. This is not how I remember aprons to be. 

    You can also purchase a set of three matching tea towels with stripe.

    Nana Huchy towel

    These are very sweet. I just love the luxurious linen feel.

    Make sure you view the entire range at http://www.nanahuchy.com.au/ and follow them on Facebook.

    ***

    flowershop.com.au Mother’s Day bouquet (RRP: $69)

    flowershop.com.au

    Who doesn’t love flowers on Mother’s Day? While it’s nice to pick fresh flowers from the garden, they’re never quite presented to the same standard as a florist can. Especially when children are involved! Then there’s the sheer variety on offer. The Mother’s Day Bouquet is a gorgeous bunch of fresh flowers with a pink theme that any mum would love. Well, you all know we love pink here.

    The bouquet can be delivered anywhere in Australia and if you order before May 10 you’ll have them in time for Mother’s Day. Flowershop.com.au also sends internationally. The flower shop is based in Brisbane, but has an easy process to order completely online. Flowershop.com.au offers such a huge variety of bouquets, there’s sure to be something to suit every occassion and fit most budgets – with same day delivery free. If you’re unsure of what to get, there’s plenty of categories to go wandering through. You may just get lost with the choice!

    Check out the full range at www.flowershop.com.au and be sure to follow them on Facebook.

    Would you like to win ALL these gorgeous gifts? For a chance to win a Rose gold Swarovski Crystal edge pendant, I Love You & Baby Feet coin and single ball chain from InnerPower; Nana Huchy full apron with tea towel; and flowershop.com.au Mother’s Day bouquet VALUED AT $394.50, simply leave a comment telling us the best thing about your mum. The most creative answer will win. The giveaway closes Tuesday, May 8 at 7.30pm and winner announced on this blog and via Facebook and Twitter. Australian residents only. One entry per person.

    Feel free to share the post via Facebook and Twitter and don’t forget to sign up to my eNewsletter so you nevere miss any of these fabulous giveaways.

    **DISCLOSURE: I received a Nina Huchy apron and towel to review ONLY. I was not paid for this post. All opinions expressed are purely my own.

    ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED. Visit the WIN page for the winner.