WE SWAPPED the girls’ usual splashing and bubble blowing (usually from both ends) at a nearby private pool for the state-of-the-art Launceston Aquatic Centre on Sunday. We’ve experienced just about every pool in Tasmania and this one is by far our favourite. And so it should be, being Tasmania’s newest public swimming pool and costing a tidy penny.
Before you start making jokes about Tasmanians and swimming, the majority of the centre’s pools are indoors. Although, some silly fools were swimming in the outdoor area on this particular day and, I can tell you, it was freezing.
What appeals to us about this one is that during summer it’s perfect to roam between the indoor and outdoor sections and in winter, you can still enjoy a dip with the indoor area being well heated. In fact, I was literally sweating in my cardi on Sunday.
There’s plenty of choice for pools, from the indoor and outdoor beach entry leisure pools
to the indoor 50m competition pool and outdoor 25m lap pool with diving boards. Li’l Holly was just happy with in the baby pool.
Ella was more interested in the interactive water play area, which has slides and a large bucket that dumps water over the entire area every minute or so. Although, she timed her trips down the slide to the second so she wouldn’t get dumped on.
Even Holly went for a few rides with The Bloke in The Shed.
As the girls get older, it will be nice to transition to the 65m waterslide. Although, I might add, you’ll never catch me on it.
The aquarium also has a program pool and spa, multi-purpose rooms, barbecues, swim shop, classes and change areas that are clean, tidy and very spacious.
Not to mention The Cube Cafe, with our lunch quickly demolished. Eyes off my sandwiches, Ella.
Conclusion: If you’re looking for a quality swimming facility that caters for all ages and abilities, it’s hard to go past the Launceston Aquatic Centre. It’s easy to keep an eye on children in the main area from most vantage points. The view over Launceston is pretty spectacular too. The only real negative – and something that needs to be addressed – is the parking. While there is ample paid parking, the metre only runs for 90 minutes. This can be a little frustrating if you’re alone with children.
Highlight: Seeing Li’l Holly so confident in the water, thanks so the 0.35m baby pool. Although, she gained so much confidence she started crawling in it, got into the deep end and went under for a few seconds. She then came up and laughed. Oh, and seeing this image on the way home.
What does it cost: It’s $5.90 for adults, children 6-15 are $4.50, children 2-5 are $1.90 and children under 2 are free. Non swimmers are $2.20 and a family is $17.50. For other fees and charges, see the website.
BEFORE buying baby products I’ve always spent hours reading reviews to make sure I was buying the best for the girls. Valco, Oricom and BabyBjorn kept slapping me in the face while I surfed the net. You know, back in the days when I had hours to waste on the internet.
We were fortunate enough to be in a position to buy quality products from the start, the majority of which have lasted the distance – two children and four years. If only I could say the same for me. Looking a little worse for wear these days.
When Li’l Holly turned one this month, I began packing away what have become some of my favourite products. As each product was placed in a box, I thought how nice it would be for others with young children to experience just how fabulous some of those brands are.
So, without further ado, here are some of the Baby Products We’ve Loved.
Valco EVO2 stroller
WALK into our house and you’ll see Valco dotted throughout – Valco feeding chair, baby rocker and our beloved T3 Plus stroller. What won me over with the T3 Plus is that, while it’s a compact umbrella style stroller that’s easy for me to handle (I’m only little, remember), it’s still extremely sturdy. Ella has even been known to jump into it now at age four. Yes, poor Li’l Holly.
Our zip-in storm cover and zip-in UV mesh have been well used (more the storm cover, with Tassie’s weather) and are easily stored in the underneath basket. I also have easy access to Twitter, with the zip storage pocket at the back holding my smartphone. Throw in a five-position reclining seat for sleep times, 4 wheel suspension for smooth travelling and some easy grip, ergonomically angled handles for mum’s poor arms and you can see why I find this one hard to fault. We’re even taking it to Melbourne with us next month.
OK, so maybe if it looked a little more like this one
– the Valco EVO2 stroller – then it would be perfect. The EVO2 is the newest model, which comes in two funky designs: Chainz and Arctic.
How nice is Chainz? It features a no-pinch-hinge to save pinching fingers when it’s being folded, along with lockable swivel wheels, adjustable footrest and compact fold with carry handle. And guess what? You could win the NEW EVO2 MODEL.
Favourite part: It’s easy to assemble and pack away, which means more reasons to go shopping. Hmmm, slightly dangerous. EVO2 is valued at: $199.
You can find more about Valco at www.valco.com.au, plus be sure to connect via Facebookand Twitter to keep up with future specials, news and competitions.
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Oricom Secure610 Premium Digital Baby Monitor
I confess, we bought a different brand of baby monitor when Ella was a bub and soon regretted it. There was static noise, interference and the antennae started to break. So when Li’l Holly came along we decided to upgrade. After hours of research, the end result was our much-loved Oricom S500.
Not only does it offer crystal clear sound, but every night Holly drifts off to the sound of lullabies that play through the base and handset. The handset also features a torch – perfect for our night feeds and displays the room temperature – it even has an alarm sound and/or light when it’s too cool or hot. Then there’s the parent talk back system: “Go back to sleep, Holly’’ and charger. I might add that fully charged it lasts for hours and has a pretty extensive range.
This is one smart little unit and is still being heavily used in our house – and probably will be for a while. The latest Oricom SC610 monitor has many of the same features. In addition, it projects soothing starry night images onto the nursery ceiling. Oh, I want one of those. It also has 19 classical tunes, lullabies and nature sounds and vibration alert with alarm function for feeds. And guess what? Yes, the winner will get the new Oricom SC61 model.
Favourite part: Being able to grab the remote in the middle of the night and turn the lullabies back on if Li’l Holly stirs without having to get out of bed. Lazy? Yes! Oricom Secure610 Premium Digital Baby Monitor is valued at $199.
You can find more about Oricom at www.oricom.com.au and buy direct from the site. There are some exciting giveaways coming up on the Oricom Facebook page so don’t forget to like them.
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BabyBjorn baby carrier Miracle
The BabyBjorn carrier was our saviour for both girls. With Princess Ella (pictured above), it was the one thing that allowed us to settle her when she was battling colic in those early months. I’d do a couple of laps of the house and she’d be out to it. It was the upright position and being close to me that were the keys.
With Li’l Holly, the BabyBjorn saved my back. She is twice the size of her sister at the same age, so popping her into our beloved BabyBjorn made carrying her so much easier. And I’ve mentioned before about using it during arsenic/witching/feral hour.
What I love about BabyBjorn is how it’s ergonomically designed for parents and children, it has good head and neck support, it allows the change from inward facing to outward as baby gets older and it has plenty of cushioning for support. I was also able to unlatch the front and place the girls straight into their beds without waking them.
The latest version, the BabyBjorn baby carrier Miracle, is designed to be used from newborn to 15 months thanks to consulting leading peadiatricians. There’s even an innovative size adjustment buckle on the inside of the carrier to make it larger as baby grows.
Favourite part: Hubby and I are worlds apart when it comes to our shape and size (see photo above for proof), so easily being able to adjust it was essential for us. The new BABYBJORN baby carrier Miracle is valued at $199.95.
You can learn more about the latest BabyBjorn carrier www.babybjorn.com.au. BabyBjorn has an active Facebook page so make sure you add yourself to their page.
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Would you like to win all three products? For a chance to win a Valco EVO2 stroller, Oricom Secure610 Premium Digital Baby Monitor and BabyBjorn baby carrier Miracle VALUED AT $600, simply leave a comment telling us your favourite baby product. The giveaway closes Monday, November 28 at 7pm and a winner will be drawn randomly and announced on this blog and via Facebook and Twitter. Australian residents only. Limit of four entries.
Want extra entries? Then here’s how you can up your chances in the draw. Each task is worth one extra entry, but must be included as a separate comment (or it won’t count).
Click the Facebook button below and share this giveaway with your Facebook friends. Then leave a separate comment saying something along the lines of “I’ve shared this on Facebook’’.
Click the Twitter button below and share this giveaway with your Twitter followers (Twitter handle is @ThreeLil). Then leave a separate comment saying something along the lines of “I’ve shared this on Twitter’’.
Follow me via the Google Friend Connect button over there in the sidebar and leave a comment telling me you’re now a follower.
**DISCLOSURE: I did not receive any item for review. All products were purchased. All opinions expressed are purely my own.
Check out more giveaways in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup.
I think vacuuming would be the perfect dad and daughter bonding experience. What do you think?
If you want to be as lucky as my husband, then start clicking the links below. And might I just add that you REALLY should come back tomorrow, because I have one almighty big giveaway!
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Playing Cinderella: Princess Ella finally allowed me to play Cinderella during our make believe games this week. I always get lumped with the Ugly Step Sister role. I was so grateful she felt I could handle the lead. Then I realised the real motive behind it. “Now, sweep the floor, Cinders. Then give me a foot rub. Now do the washing’’. Ah, right. I see.
A HUGE giveaway coming: Some of the brands I’ve loved during the past four years as the girls have gone through babyhood are going to be featured in a pretty special giveaway on Monday. I feel so fortunate they were keen to work with me.
Cheap Halloween costumes: After referencing all those wonderful people in last week’s post who inspired me to get crafty for Princess Ella’s Halloween costume, I stumbled across a cheap witches outfit – complete with broom – in one of those cheap and nasty shops this week. So I bought it. I know. I’m lazy. But she loves it. So much so, she slept in it Wednesday night. Thanking goodness she didn’t wake during at midnight and catch a glimpse of herself in her floor-to-ceiling wardrobe mirror.
The morning after…
I’m joining with Maxabella Loves to share what I’m grateful for.
Butter wouldn't melt in their mouths – probably because they can't keep their mouths still long enough.
I KNOW that the visual of a woman with a telephone in one hand, head nodding, arm flailing and mouth flapping at a 100 miles an hour first starts to take shape about age one. I also know that when Zoey from GoodGoog sent out the tweet: “ The child is trying to kill me by continuous talking and never stopping EVER’’, I felt a huge amount of empathy for her.
With a one-year-old and four-year-old princess, I already have a chatterbox in each ear going from about 6.30am until 7pm EVERY day. I’ve learnt to just nod and say “that’s nice, darling’’ every minute and a half. Although, that often fails because every second sentence from the four year old is often a question.
The following incident then happened yesterday, which I know just reinforced my fate.
Princess Ella trailed behind me as I took Little Holly into the nursery for her morning nap. Ella knows she’s not allowed in there while I’m trying to put her to bed. She usually only hypes her sister up by singing and playing peek-a-boo, none of which help Holly settle.
On this day, instead of leaving when I asked, she popped herself up into the feeding chair and began the following dialogue:
“I’m a big girl now, aren’t I, Mum? I’m allowed in here, because I can be really quiet, can’t I, Mum? I won’t say anything. See? I’m being quiet. I’m a good girl.’’ And it went on.
I rest my case.
Do you have chatterboxes? What are your coping mechanisms?
THIS is my little stab at writing a children’s book. I know it still needs a LOT of work. Either that or the bin. It’s based on the adventures of Ella’s two Zhu Zhu pets and. at the moment, it is a well read story here. So I thought I’d share it with you.
One day, when the two princesses were at school, there were some strange things happening at home.
Mum was busily doing her work, when suddenly she heard a noise. What could it be?
She peered around the corner to find Zhu Leopard and Zhu Zebratearing around the lounge room in a loud car. They were going sooofast, Zhu Zebra’s hair was flapping in the wind. “Quiet,’’ Mum said. “There’s too much noise.’’
Mum headed back to doing her work. Then, a few minutes later, she heard … scratch, scratch, scratch. She peeked into the kitchen to find Zhu Leopard and Zhu Zebra trying to get into Baby Holly’s birthday cake. “Quiet,’’ Mum said. “There’s too much noise.’’
Just as Mum sat back down to her computer, she heard scratch, scratch, scratch AND nibble, nibble, nibble. What was going on? Mum headed to the kitchen again and this time found Zhu Leopard had jumped INTO the cake tin. “Quiet,’’ Mum said. “There’s too much noise.’’
As the sun started to set and Mum was writing her last few tweets (um, we mean work emails), the Zhu-Faris sat up to the window as the sky changed colour. Then… squee, squee, squee. The noisy pair had spotted a tiny bird through the window and wanted to chase it. Mum sighed and then said: “Quiet. There’s too much noise.’’
Mum had had enough. She picked the two Zhu-Faris up, took them into Princess Ella’s room and and tucked them into bed. She then opened a book and read them a quiet bedtime story. The Zhu-Fari’s sat, without making a noise, and listened.
Soon they were fast asleep.
Mum was finally able to sit down and finish her work. But something was wrong. What could it be? “It’s tooquiet,’’ Mum said. “There’s not enough noise.’’
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If you want (and please, don’t feel like I’m twisting your arm), you can download a free copy of the ebook (with proper formatting) to read to your little ones. Just click on the image.
Joining in with Kate Says Stuff’s Thankful Thursday. Find out what others are thankful for by clicking the link.
DISCLOSURE: I am a Zhu-Fari mummy blogger ambassador.
