threelilprincesses.com

Category: Life and laughter

  • SHED: How to pick a winner

    SHED: How to pick a winner

    We refrained from showing a photo of her picking her nose!

    BABY Holly has developed a disturbing habit – this is one thing I know, for sure. No, it’s not her habit of passing wind or pooing religiously at every tea time (although that is disturbing). No, at only nine months, she has learned the art of picking her nose.

    And this just isn’t any accident either. Her movements are slow and calculated. Her index finger slowly extends and calmly heads towards her nostril of preference where it quickly embeds itself. Then the index finger is slowly removed, making its way south to become lost in the abyss of Holly’s eating cavity.

    Now, if that wasn’t disturbing enough, it gets worse. The other day I was sharing a lovely moment with Holly – she was on the floor on her back and I was giving her kisses on her cheek.

    At one point I sat back a bit and she looked deeply into my eyes. “She really loves me,’’ I thought foolishly. It was then her index finger, which had been resting on my face, extended. Slowly it made its way to my nostril, as I sat frozen in disbelief. Then she pulled it out and tried to stick it in her mouth, only for me to wake from my trance, to save it millimetres from her lips.

    Since then, she has become a nose picking machine and at any opportunity will try to pick the nearest available nose. The experts say all baby behaviour is learned. So I am blaming Ella, who has turned picking her nose into a secret society akin to the Greek mafia.

    Ella will disappear for moments or skulk behind your back at a quiet moment to mine her nasal passages discreetly. Not sure where Ella learned it from though…

    Is your child a nose picker? What do you do to deter your child from this terrible habit?

    I’m linking up with Shae from Yay For Home as part of Things I Know. Click on the button to read other great posts on the topic.

  • PHOTO: Give us a kiss

    PHOTO: Give us a kiss

    BABY Holly met a new friend yesterday. She was rather taken with her too.

    Well, hellooooo…
    Whoa mama!
    Mum, my friend is very pretty.
    Look out, I'm going to give you a kiss.
    Here I come.
    Mmmmmm
    Mwah! xx

    Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys’ Wordless Wednesday. Click on the link to check out more photo posts. And also FlogYoBlog Friday at Where’s My Glow.

    To keep up to date with what’s happening in the Three Li’l Princesses’ palace, don’t forget to subscribe.
    FYBF

  • Interview with a … school principal

    Interview with a … school principal

    Ella in hospital

    IT FEELS like only yesterday my mind was firmly on whether my body was going to turn inside out. Ah, the joys of childbirth. Now, here I am lamenting my li’l princess heading off to “big girl school’’ (aka pre-kindy) later this year. Where did my baby girl go?

    Don’t worry, this isn’t a lecture on what age your child should be when they start school. My theory is, start them when they’re ready. And Princess Ella is well and truly ready (she’s four in November, just for the record). I’ve even started the ABC Reading Eggs with her, because she WANTS to learn.

    Each time we pass the school with the pretty windows, Ella shouts out “that’s going to be my big girl school, isn’t it mum?’’. Each time, I shed a tear. I’m not upset about her not being at home. Give me Oprah over those annoying Small Potatoes any day. Someone, please, bake those buggers. She’s been in child care two days a week since she was one. So I don’t have that same anxiety other parents face in seeing their child walk out the door. It’s more the fact that we’ve reached yet another mark in her fast-moving life.

     

    There is some anxiety though. You see, we have to be… interviewed. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve been on the receiving end of an interview? The Bloke in The Shed, having just been through a pretty rigorous interview to become Editor, doesn’t have the same fears. So I’ll be stapling my lips together to limit the amount of times I can stuff up her chances of a private education for her. That’s if we get an interview.
    And we’re not private school snobs. We both went to public school and turned out half OK. Except for a few emotional scars from stealing everyone’s erasers from their desk tubs in Grade 6. As if no one was going to notice. What was I thinking? We’re also not Catholic, which could be a slight issue considering it’s a Catholic school. The Pope’s Catholic, right? Hmm, may need to hit the books (and by books, I mean the bible).

    We’ve opted private simply because the school has a good reputation and… we can. Although it may mean bread and dripping for dinner for the next 18 years. And really, if I fail the interview because I just can’t keep my mouth shut, it’s not going to be the end of the world. Although, Ella does have her heart set on playing on that red and blue swing set.

    How are you feeling (or did you feel) about your child starting school?

  • FEATURE: I’m grateful for chocolate (who isn’t!)

    FEATURE: I’m grateful for chocolate (who isn’t!)

    This week I’m grateful for:

    • Nanny O’Brien giving Princess Ella a chocolate Easter Bunny (only nans could still have Easter chocolate left). Although, I must admit I held grave fears for the life of that bunny while Ella was at child care earlier this week.
    • To TLP readers not laughing too hard over “that photo’’. Although, I really think some of you were being rather too kind in
      your comments!
    • Little girls who make me laugh when I’m unwell (dreaded cold). As Ella went to bed last night she announced to all that her bedroom door would need to be shut because: “I’m going to be snoring very loudly. I don’t want to wake anyone’’. Ah, right.

    I’m joining with Maxabella Loves to share what I’m grateful for.

  • FEATURE: A bear with a sore head ready for bed

    FEATURE: A bear with a sore head ready for bed

    IT’S 8.22pm, my nose is red and running, my head is pounding, I have sneezed eight times in a row and bed is beckoning. I know that, for certain. However, I also know I’m addicted to blogging and just can’t help but write SOMETHING. So, here are some other things I know.

    • I know mothers don’t get sick leave. Why didn’t someone tell me this earlier? I may have applied for a different job.
    • I know there may be a few crocodile tears this morning when three-year-old Ella realises she won’t be able to go to dancing because mum needs to be close to a large supply of tissues.
    • I know she will then turn around an hour later and say: “it’s OK Mum, I’ll look after you’’ (ever the helper).
    • I know being a milk tanker to my girls has been one of the great joys of motherhood, because it’s allowed me to bond with them in a whole different way to which their dad does.
    • I know being a milk tanker to my girls has been one of the great pains in the bottom when you’re sick and pining for drugs to ease your pain. Aarrggghhh!
    • I know Baby Holly is likely to wake in about two hours, because she’s also sick and will want comfort (ie. a boobie juice).
    • I know much of this post will probably not make sense, which brings me to my final point…
    • I know it’s time now for bed. Night! xx

    I’m linking up with Where’s My Glow? as part of FlogYoBlog Friday and Shae from Yay For Home as part of Things I Know.

    FYBF

  • FEATURE: I can see clearly now

    FEATURE: I can see clearly now

    RETURNING home from Princess Ella’s 3.5-year check with the child health nurse yesterday, there was great relief in being able to log into social media and ease some of my fears. Fear? What fears would I have?

    She’s ahead in her development. Her vocabulary is beyond what it should be (I only actually discovered this yesterday). She has great talent in creative pursuits. Physically she’s capable of all manner of activities. She’s mastered the alphabet and counting. She’s fit and healthy. In the words of her favourite movie character Mary Poppins, she’s practically perfect in every way.

    Except for her eyesight. During the test she was thrilled she got to look like this (well, the eye patch part):

    Ahoy, me hearties!

    Meanwhile, I had other things racing through my mind. Both eyes together aced the test (she even got praised for picking up the letters so quickly) and the right eye was spot on. But the final two letters to test the left eye were off – all three times. To add to that, she kept turning her head to the side to try and see better. We’re now on the path to getting a referral to see a specialist.

    There were some wonderful comments on Facebook and Twitter. Among them were mums whose little ones:

    • had temporary eye strain so wore glasses for a short period of time;
    • showed signs of eyesight problems during the initial test, but aced the specialist’s test;
    • wore glasses from 11 months of age (imagine the fun trying to keep them on!);
    • fooled their parents with incredible memory recall, but actually had bad eyesight.

    In all, the main message was it’s natural for us to worry but it’s a minor challenge in the scheme of things. And if she does have to have glasses, they’re now far cooler than they were in our day. One little boy was even chuffed he was going to look like Holden driver Mark Scaffe. Very cool.

    I had fears Ella would end up looking like this:

    Now that you’ve finished laughing, I should probably tell you that four-eyed little girl with the coke-bottle glasses is…

    ME!

    I’m severely long sighted. Thank goodness for contact lenses, you say! On a positive note, it’s congenital, not hereditary. So she can’t blame me. Anyway, we’ll keep you posted on her progress.

    Does your little one have glasses or eye sight challenges? How did they cope?