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Category: Raising Girls

  • The difference a year can make

    The difference a year can make

    girl with clip

    Where were you 12 months ago? The Bloke in the Shed and I were doing this excruciating 6km community walk the other day – excruciating for me; a leisurely stroll for him – when he piped up with: “I couldn’t have done this a year ago?’’.

    He’s right. He would have been struggling to complete it, if it wasn’t for taking on a personal trainer 18 months ago and having dropped a significant amount of weight. He now does 10-12km runs every night – without breaking a sweat. I know. Makes you sick, doesn’t it?

    Janelle, his trainer, is a huge motivator for him. She’s lost 90kg (that’s two of me) and is a totally different person to who she was a few years ago. She’s also a mum. Like Julian, her kids become the catalyst to get healthy.

    girl with cheeky smile

    It’s made me think about how far I’ve come in 12 months (which might be interesting to look back on in another year). Here are some of the things I was struggling with then:

    THEN: I swore I was going to turn into ol’ black eyes rocker Jon English from the effects of sleep deprivation and, like Jon English, it would last forever. I was still getting up at least once during the night – on a good night.
    NOW: I’m like a frizzy-mopped child getting their hair brushed if one of the girls wakes before 6.30am. It’s strictly non-stop 7pm to 7am sleep here now.

    THEN: Managing two to three business clients on my own and dreaming one day I’d be drinking pina colada’s from my private island home (ah, too many Richard Branson books, maybe). At one point, maybe six months ago, I contemplated shutting the business down.
    NOW: I’m writing a book, have two exceptional team members on board the business, a list of super talented clients, doing public speaking/sessions on blogging and social media, gaining media attention and more exciting opportunities coming up in the near future. Still working on the island though…

    THEN: Holly was about to turn one and was totally dependent on me – still couldn’t walk, unable to really communicate what she wanted and I was having to feed two mouths at once at meal times.
    NOW: Holly is about to turn two and can walk; never stops talking (and singing the full lyrics to High School Musical); does dance concerts with her sister in the lounge room; has developed an incredibly cheeky personality, complete with selective hearing; can feed herself; is starting to toilet train; and has a strong group of little friends she’s close to. Best of all, her and Ella are now able to play properly together, leaving me in peace to unpack the dishwasher.

    THEN: Blogging every day, struggling to come up with unique topics, putting an incredible amount of pressure on myself and watching my stats like my life depended on it. Apparently, it doesn’t. Phew for that!
    NOW: I blog 2-3 times a week – either when I feel like writing or have something to say. OK, so let’s be honest, I just don’t have the time for daily blogging anymore (says she who’s doing a #BlogFor30 challenge on her other blog). I rarely look at my stats but, when I do, it seems this space is continually growing without any great effort. I also seem to be falling into collaborative opportunities, including with the recent Mum Blogging Masterclass and now via a group of bloggers I’ve long admired who work together to help each other – and our readers.

    It’s amazing the difference a year can make. Imagine what another 12 months will bring. Let’s hope it’s: getting fitter and healthier (time to curb the chocolate habit), finding a better work/life balance (some days are harder than others) and having an updated wardrobe (seriously, there’s only so much white, cream and pink one person should legally have).

    Where were you 12 months ago? Where do you want to be in 12 months? Are you actively working towards it?

  • How do you toilet train a toddler? (potty training)

    How do you toilet train a toddler? (potty training)

    Dora toilet seat

    Potty training sends some people… well, a little potty. When we toilet trained Princess Ella just before her second birthday it took all of a week and she was trained. So you can imagine I have these incredibly unrealistic expectations for Li’l Holly, who has started repeating the words “nappies are yuck” and pulling her nappy off to do a nudie run up the hallway at every opportunity.

    The real challenge is she doesn’t like the turtle potty and only wants the “big girl toilet”. This means it’s hard to tell if she’s actually done a wee on there yet. She has made some lovely facial expressions though as if she’s squeezing something out. She is also highly fascinated with wiping her own bottom, even though she hasn’t done anything.

    So, how are we going to tackle this one?

    • Dress her in big girl pants when she’s around the house so she can literally see when she’s done a wee. Then take her to the toilet straight after and give her praise.
    • Dress her in training nappy pants when out so she can feel she’s done a wee, but not make a mess in public.
    • Put her in proper nappies of a night till she starts to have dry night nappies (although, she’s already having dry night nappies – but I’m not taking any chances).
    • Keep up the praise around her asking to go to the toilet. I’ll buy her a unicorn when she finally does that first wee on the loo, I swear.
    • Taking the fold-up Dora potty seat in my handbag with us everywhere.

    fold up Dora toilet seat

    When we went hard with this strategy for Ella we had wee spots everywhere for three or four days. Then nothing. Sure, there was still the odd accident – and the smell of urine in the air for weeks afterwards until we got the carpet cleaner in.

    I will be honest and say that No. 2s were a whole other story. That did take a while. One of the tips we were given by a child carer was to sit her on the potty and read her a book. Surpringly, this worked. Whether it was allowing her to relax or just simply slowed her down to give her time to “do her business”, I don’t know. But I’ll be adopting that method again, complete with an appropriately titled Pooh Bear book.

    What are your toilet training tips or favourite toilet training products?

     

  • {Raising princesses}: How to do a girl’s hair without tears

    {Raising princesses}: How to do a girl’s hair without tears

    doing a girl's hair without tears

    Not so long ago, I cottoned onto a secret weapon in the hair washing department to avoid tears. We play hairdressers – complete with “hairdresser voice”. Apologies to all my beautiful hairdressing friends.

    It goes a little something like this:

    Me: “How are you today? Good? How was your week? We’ve been flat out with clients.’’

    Ella, in turn, answers each of the questions in her “grown up voice’’, telling me about her busy week doing drawings and dancing on stage to a huge crowd (that one obviously happened in her huge imagination).

    Once the shampoo is in and her hair piled on top of her head, we grab the mirror so she can look at herself – and laugh. She has a choice of whether she lies back and has it rinsed out or uses the Dora the Explorer hair rinsing bucket thingy.

    This has even transferred to the mornings, where she says to the old woman looking back at her in the mirror: “I’ll have two plaits, please hairdresser’’. Whatever makes the mornings less stressful, I’m happy to go with.

    doing a girl's hair

    A few weeks ago I took to Facebook to ask what suggestions other mums had around doing a child’s hair without tears. Here are the responses, with some really awesome ideas (note, some of the longer answers Facebook wouldn’t allow me to fully copy, so I have typed in bits and pieces from those):

    Caroline: I spray detangler into my daughter’s hair and spritz her hair with some plain water from a squirty bottle. I then comb it all through with a wide tooth comb. Finally I add some hair gel to try and tame her curls. I hope this helps.

    Katrina: I use Johnsons Junior Detangle Spray it works a treat and my li’l girl loves the fragrance

    Sarah: Spray and a tangle teezer brush.

    Jane: Johnson’s Jnr Detangle Spray is excellent!

    Casey: Brush and plait the night before, then in the morning take out the plait and deal with tangle free locks in the morning…

    Kristy Lee: There’s awesome brushes my sister just got into her salon and they are great for knotty hair. The brush is called Tangle Teaser and it’s made by someone with the name Paul in it.

    Harmony: We use detangle here too and it smells nice also 🙂

    Linda:Coconut oil or just normal hair conditioner are both great detanglers… My eldest has thick thick wavy hair, it’s a nightmare. My other tip is that you don’t necessarily have to get EVERY knot out… just hide them in a bun or plaits. The only thing with coconut oil is, if you use those rubber band type hairbands it disintegrates the rubber and they break. Weird but true.

    Debbie: Start putting your daughters hair up as soon as it can be done. Do this regularly (even though they’ll take it out constantly). It’s good to get them used to it.. I also spray with water with oils in it (nit preventer) and plait school

    Casey: Oh the best part about the night before plait is that if you are running ridiculously late you can clip the escapee hairs and wet and you’re right to go… lol

    Amie: Conditioner mixed with water in a fairy spray bottle works a treat! I hear its also a good deterant for school pests 🙂

    Tricia: The Tangle Teasers need to be seen to be believed. They really do work. Mornings at my house are much better retail for $30 and $35 but well worth it

    Amanda: I like to ask the girls to run the brush through their hair themselves, before I get to it. This way they can have tackled some of the knots themselves, and it’s not as bad. Another tip is to hold the hair tightly with your fist wrapped around it and start by brushing the ends. Because you’re holding the hair you can brush it as fiercely as needed without it pulling at the roots of their hair.

    Emma-Louise: Preparation is the key – the night before in the shower/bath always apply conditioner and COMB through, this will ensure tangle free hair every single time, Rinse it, gently comb and air dry. The following day just lightly spray with warm water with a squirter bottle and, again, lightly use a wide toothed comb to rake hair into position – then smooth quickly with a natural bristle brush and lakki band it. My specialty is easy, fast, gorgeous beautiful hair.

    What tips could you add to this list? Is hair time in the morning a challenge or something you enjoy in your house?

  • Aussie Giveaway Linkup #52: A swimmingly good edition

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #52: A swimmingly good edition

    dad and baby swimmingYesterday we went for a dip in a private indoor pool (because we live in Tasmania and you would not go swimming otherwise at this time of year). The water was so warm and the air so cold, at one point I had flashbacks to a scene from Gorillas in the Mist as The Bloke in The Shed approached me in the water amid a sea of fog.

    Ella loves the water. However, she’s had a real fear around learning to swim. Yesterday she was wearing her Wahu life jacket and gaining more confidence as the hour went on. After a year of trying to build her confidence to let go of us, she did. Her legs looked like a frog kicking and her fast-paddling hands were akin to a dog who’d just witnessed steak being put on the barbie onshore. But she was loving it. And we were beaming.

    Holly, at just 20 months of age, didn’t want to be left out. So, without a floatation device, she tried her best to swim away from our grasp and go alone. She ended up drinking about 15 litres of water. Her nappy later proved that.

    When we got home, I told Ella how proud I was of her for having a go. She responded with: “Thanks for being proud of me, Mum. I’m proud of you too’’. I’m still wondering exactly what it is she’s proud of me for.

    Anyway, that’s my small but important win for the week. What about you? What win have you had? If you’re still waiting, get clicking below to score yourself a chance at something nice.

    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.
    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 #51: The musical edition

    Aussie Giveaway Linkup #51: The musical edition

    So, what wins do I have to sprout about this week? Well, let’s see:

    WIN: I finally got Ella to look beyond Hi-5 and The Fairies and introduced her to High School Musical. I discovered a copy of the DVD tucked away in the cupboard from my entertainment magazine days. She instantly fell in love. I instantly wanted to be 10 years younger so I was half a chance with Zac Efron. OK, maybe more like a 3% chance.

    Zac Efron

    LOSE: Three days later we’d watched it five times already and she’d discovered I also had the CD. It is now on high rotation in the car.

    WIN: I had to go to the video store (not that they have videos anymore. Someone really needs to rebrand them) to get a copy of Red Dog for the book I’m writing. I took Ella along. We discovered High School Musical 2 and 3. I know. Who would have thought?

    LOSE: She’s not interested in the second and third instalment. Not even with a bucket of popcorn thrown in. She just wants the original and to bust a move singing Stick To The Status Quo. Not that she has any idea what “status quo’’ is.

    WIN: Did I mention Zac Efron’s not bad looking. Sadly, that’s as good as it gets, people.

     

    Are your children obsessed with any TV shows or movies at the moment?

     

    If you want a real win, then start clicking on the links below. We had 36 links last week. Can we top it?

    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.
    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
    Aussie Giveaway Linky
    Hosted by
  • Would you like to be my guest?

    Would you like to be my guest?

    Girls rugged up for winter

    I’m looking to start a series of fun posts from fellow mums and mum bloggers on “Life and Laughter” to run every Friday. There are a few reasons behind starting the series, including giving mums a place to post outside their own blog or Facebook page and hopefully drive a little traffic and Google ranking their way.

    If you’re interested, you can choose any of the “new’’ sub category topics under “Life and Laughter” – “new’’ because I deleted ALL my categories the other day accidentally and so decided to start from scratch. So pick a Life and Laughter sub category topic from the homepage sidebar (apart from The Bloke in The Shed – unless you have manly bits) and inform, educate or entertain us. Note: we’re also adding a “Looking after mum’’ headline if you’re interested in posting on that topic as well.

    There are a few guidelines:

    • Aim to keep your post between 300-700 words.
    • You can be witty, serious, write in list form, use an image only or story format (although, note, short sentences and some images help prevent the “grey slab of text’’ look).
    • Include at least one image, but you’re more than welcome to include more.
    • End with a short bio and a photo of yourself or your blog button. You’re more than welcome to leave a link to your blog and one social media site.
    • I’m happy to hear if you’ve got keywords you’d like me to use.
    • The post can be submitted as text in an email with images attached or html in a Word Doc file, whichever is easiest for you.
    • Please refrain from making the post an ad for your business or brand. We won’t run content we don’t believe fits in with the style of the blog. I know, we’re mean, aren’t we?

    If you’re interested in taking part, email the idea or the post itself to us and we’ll get back to you.