threelilprincesses.com

Author: Kellie O’Brien

  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #100: The 100th edition

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #100: The 100th edition

    Holly

    Evening all. I’m popping in quickly tonight to upload the Aussie Giveaway Linky. I’m part way through writing a chapter for the bio novel and am eager to keep going. However, first I really should let you in on our wins for the week:

    • This is our 100th Aussie Giveaway Linkup. Completely shocked by that. Where did the last 100 Saturdays/Sundays go?
    • Two-year-old Holly has developed the occasional bit of attitude, with her favourite word being “anythink’’. Translated, this means “nothing’’. If I ask her: “Holly, what are you up to?’’, she throws a sharp “anythink’’ back, complete with adult-like scoffing and furrowed brow. It is so hard to keep a straight face. (PS. I do have a cute and funny video I need to share of her soon too!).
    • I’ve booked The Bloke in The Shed in for a weekend away in Melbourne to watch Collingwood v Carlton for his birthday. That’s definitely a win – whether the Pies win or lose. I’ve just got to remember to turn the phone off before the game.
    • Apparently Holly loves me more than her dad. Me: “Why don’t you love Dad?’’. Holly: “Because he’s a naughty ratbag.’’ Me: “Why is he a naughty ratbag?’’ Holly: “Because he fights on me’’. Translated: Julian tickles her and does general annoying dad things. Just wait till she’s old enough to understand dad jokes.

    What were your wins this week?

    Now, onto this week’s Australian competitions and giveaways…

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup instructions:

    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 and be run by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
    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.
    5. 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



  • How to make a piñata – number five piñata

    How to make a piñata – number five piñata

    Over the next few weeks I thought I’d share some birthday inspiration from the girls’ birthday parties. Today is how to make a piñata using a cardboard box and a loose piñata pattern for a number five pinata.

    Step 1:

    pinata

    Find a decent-sized box. Ours was a sand and water table box, because it was a rectangle shape. There’s no exact measurements here, so choose the size you like. I found for number five, it works best to have a rectangle rather than a square-shaped box.

    Step 2:

    pinata

    Draw on the front of the box the shape you wish to make. So for us, it was number five. Make sure the sides of your number five drawing go directly to the edges. You’ll see why in a minute.

    Step 3:

    pinata

    Using a Stanley knife (or a kitchen knife in our case), start cutting the inside sections of the five – that is, the half circle at the bottom of the five and the straight and curved sections of the top. Do not cut along the length of the box at the sides, only across the width.

    Step 4:

    pinata

    I found it useful to then use the knife or a long pencil to trace through to the back of the box from the inside. Repeat the cutting steps.

    Step 5:

    pinata number 5

    On the half circle at the bottom, you should now have cut the front half circle, back half circle and across the width of the side of the box (as shown).

    Step 6:

    pinata number 5

    For the top, you should now have cut into the box from right to left, followed by a cut downward and then finally the curve shape. Do this for front and back, along with the right-hand length of the box (as shown – so much easier to see in pictures than to explain in words!)

    Step 7:

    pinata

    Go through and measure strips to cover the exposed outer edges to enclose the pinata. Then use tape to stick the strips to the pinata. You should have plenty of cardboard leftover to do this.

    Step 8:

    pinata decorating

    Now to decorate. Take some streamers and slice three quarters of the way up the width of the streamer, being careful not to cut all the way through. These cuts can be about 1-2 centimetres apart. TIP: To make it easier, put a few layers of screamers together and cut a few streamers at once.

    Step 9:

    number 5 pinata

    Wrap the streamers around the number five cardboard cut out. You can alternate between colours or use one colour. It’s completely up to you.

    Step 10:

    number 5 pinata

    You’ll notice we left a few holes to allow us to put in treats for the kids.

    Find yourself a decent stick, the end of a broom or, in our case, an umbrella to use to bash it open at the party. It’s fairly durable, so it takes a bit to crack open, but then, that’s half the fun!

    What are your favourite birthday party games?

    Want more birthday inspiration? Try…

  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #99: Mother’s Day edition

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #99: Mother’s Day edition

    Cinderella costume

    Highlights from Mother’s Day week (I know it’s a day, but I’m making it into a week!):

    • I got caught eating Ella’s Humpty Dumpty Easter egg. Come on, I was desperate for chocolate. To avoid the tears, I promised any Mother’s Day chocolates I received she could share. The next morning, while telling her how I couldn’t wait for Sunday’s sleep in, breakfast in bed and dinner out, Ella piped up with: “And don’t forget, you’ve got to give me some of your chocolate fudge we bought you?’’ She then turned pale. “Oops, I wasn’t meant to tell you that, was I?’’. Ah, probably not!
    • And how cute is Cinderella, all dressed up and ready for the ball… or the disco, at least. Her first school disco and a handbag full of money ($5 can look like a lot when it comes in change).

    Do you already know what you’re getting for Mother’s Day? Are your kids good with keeping secrets?

    Now, onto this week’s Australian competitions and giveaways…

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup instructions:

    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 and be run by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
    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.
    5. 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 #98: Giggles with Jimmy

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #98: Giggles with Jimmy

    Jimmy Giggle 3

    Highlights from our winning week were:

    • Ella got to meet one of her favourite ABC4 Kids stars Jimmy Giggle and give him three drawings at Agfest today. Holly, on the other hand, was just disappointed Hoot wasn’t there.
    • When we got home, Ella was confused as to how Jimmy could fly back to Sydney so quickly to be on the TV. “The plane must have been fast, Mum’’.
    • The Three Li’l Princesses Facebook page has got some mums a little hot and bothered tonight, because of posting the above photo. It’s fair to say, there were some mums at Agfest today too who were far more excited about seeing Jimmy than their children were.

    Here’s some more Jimmy for you…

    Jimmy Giggle 2

    Are you – or your kids – Jimmy Giggle fans?

    Now, onto some other winning opportunities…

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup instructions:

    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 and be run by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
    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.
    5. 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



  • Zoo versus aquarium Sydney versus Melbourne

    Zoo versus aquarium Sydney versus Melbourne

    When we travel interstate, we are such tourists. We do all the things tourists do – which means every zoo, aquarium and museum have just about been covered.

    In the past two years, we’ve experienced the Melbourne Zoo, Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, the Melbourne Aquarium and the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium. If there were such a thing as zoo/aquarium FlyBuy points, we’d have earned ourselves another free visit by now.

    Without dipping into the fiery debate Sydneysiders and Melbournites have over who’s city is better, here’s our take on the four big attractions and what appeals to us about each:

    Melbourne Zoo

    Melbourne Zoo

    We’ve done the Melbourne Zoo so many times I could nearly take over as a tour guide – including a talk on how to navigate a rather muddy section during wet weather. What we love about Melbourne is that it’s flat, which makes pushing a stroller easy. It’s simple to navigate, there’s plenty of shade (a life saver during our last December trip) and there’s a nice open space for eating. Our favourite sections have to be the monkeys and the seal show. Downsides would be that it’s so widespread we’ve yet to be able to actually do the whole thing. The highlight for Ella is always the butterfly house.

    Taronga Zoo, Sydney

    Sydney Taronga Zoo

    Julian and I visited Taronga years ago, but saw it through completely different eyes with two kids in tow. We bought a package via Red Balloon that included a cruise from Darling Harbour to the zoo, a ride on the air bus and admission into the zoo itself. Taronga is beautifully designed, looks a little more polished than Melbourne and has incredibly stunning views of Sydney Harbour and the Opera House. However, the downside of that is having to push a stroller up a hill at times. There also seems to be quite a bit of backtracking. Our favourite section was the elephants and, during January 2013, being able to see the moving dinosaur models.

    Melbourne Aquarium

    Melbourne Aquarium

    Aquariums are more Julian’s thing than mine. I think if you’ve seen one fish, you’ve seen them all. The penguin area, which is your first impression of the Melbourne Aquarium, is sublime. To see them so clearly walking through the snow and swimming in the deep water, without any barriers obstructing your view, is a real highlight. The underground sections at both aquariums are superb and it’s where we tend to spend the most amount of time. The girls loved being able to pop their head inside hidey holes to get a closer look at some of the species.

    SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium

    SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium

    While we were a little shocked at being thrown into a photo at the beginning of our tour, we soon got over the camera flash and took the many twists and turns around the aquarium. Around each corner is a different shaped tank that are intriguing in themselves. The girls were slightly spun out by having water all around them in one of the tunnels, as a shark, dugong and stingrays swam over their heads and fish under their feet. Another highlight was the incredible display of seahorses. The one challenge for us was steep inclines in one section of the aquarium. Going up with a stroller was a bit of an effort after a long hot day.

    Overall, it’s hard to compare the four. They all do so much well, all have areas to improve on and each will tailor to different types of people and their needs. To be honest, we’re just happy for the experiences and the educational benefits it provides the girls.

    Have you been to any of the above? What were your highlights?

  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #97: Living in another world

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #97: Living in another world

    homemade gift box

    Highlights from our winning week were:

    • While driving home in the dark after eating out last night, five-year-old Ella pipes up with: “It’s night time here, but it’s daytime over in the world Uncle Rick lives in. Isn’t it, Mum?’’ We live in Tasmania. Uncle Rick lives in Melbourne.
    • Two-year-old Holly learning to waggle her finger and, with some cheeky diva attitude, says: “uh-huh, girrrrlfrieeeeend’’. I really need to video this to show her when she’s 18.
    • Ella and I went to the trouble of making a gift box for The Bloke in The Shed today out of delightful yellow paper. Ella took ages decorating it and, once finished, hid it. She then made him find it, using the tried and tested technique of “hot’’ and “cold’’. When he finally found it, took the mounds of sticky tape off it and opened it, he was presented with a squished Anzac biscuit. You’ve got to be excited about that.

    What wins did you have this week?

    Now, onto some other winning opportunities…

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup instructions:

    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 and be run by Australian-based bloggers or businesses.
    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.
    5. 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