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Category: Real Living

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

Today is a pretty significant day in the palace. The long-awaited ebook, Only Hearts Should Be Worn On Sleeves: The Snotty Truth About Motherhood, has been released. A tad earlier than expected, but in all honesty I’m just glad to see it finally out there. Kind of like the day Ella was born. I’d had enough of waiting.

For those who don’t know the background, here’s a bit of a timeline:

Mid 2007: I was up the duff and trying to launch a new magazine for The Advocate Newspaper. There’s nothing like a bit of stress when you’re “in the family way’. We needed a column and we needed some content to appeal to mums. The logical answer was to write a funny mummy column about the good, the bad and the ugly of pregnancy. Back then, I had no idea about mummy bloggers. Never heard of the things.

November 2007: Ella was finally born and requests for the column to continue quickly started. So we decided to continue it throughout Ella’s first year of life. Re-reading them, there seems to be an awful lot of discussion about excrement.

November 2008: A year later the column ended, but people’s desire to talk about the column didn’t. We’d get stopped in the street by people wanting to meet “THE Ella’’. Even older men whose children had long left the nest wanted to recount their favourite column. Always awkward when it involved the one where I sneezed eight times and wet my pants. Did I do that?

October 2010: Ella’s little sister Holly was born. With the column still being brought up in conversation at least two to three times a week, it seemed the right time to launch one of those mum blogs I kept hearing about so I could direct them somewhere to keep reading.

January 2011: This blog was born and my discovery of the potential of ebooks began. I started talks with The Advocate Newspaper around the idea of launching the columns into an ebook. Over the course of motherhood, blogging and starting a business, the ebook idea gathered a bit of dust in the “we’ll get there one day’’ trays.

April 2012: Here we are, nearly five years later, finally launching my baby. And it really is like having another baby all over again. At least this time I keep my dignity. Or maybe not. I hope you enjoy it as much the second time around as you did the first. And if this is the first time you’ve read it, I hope it gives you plenty of giggles and head nodding moments. If you see us in the street, please stop us, let us know you read the ebook and say “hi’’ to Ella – she loves the attention. She feels akin to Suri Cruise these days.

Oh, and it seems the support continues. This was what happened on Facebook last night.

Thank you. You have no idea how much those “likes’’ and comments mean to me.

If you’re interested in buying the book, whether as a Mother’s Day gift, for yourself or a friend in need of a good laugh, you can buy it here or click the button below.

Stay tuned for Monday when we start our Virtual Book Tour.

I’m interested to know if you read the columns when they were printed in the paper? Are you planning on reading the ebook?

April 21, 2012
The Parent Manifesto: Book extract

The lovely Jodie Benveniste from Parent Wellbeing is taking over the palace today as part of her week-long Virtual Book Tour for her latest release. I’ve already devoured her two previous books – Full Belly and Little Bundle – and am now enthralled by her The Parent Manifesto: How to create a parenting approach that’s perfect for your family.

***

As a first-time mum, I devoured every book possible on parenting, to the point I became so confused I wasn’t quite sure whether I was laidback Kate Hudson or strict Julia Roberts. According to my acting skills, I’m neither. The fact is, I didn’t trust my instincts enough.

Funnily, the past two weeks I’ve had my head buried in yet another parenting book. The difference is this one doesn’t tell me what to do. Instead Jodie has put together a nurturing and encouraging step-by-step style book that empowers mums and dads to create a parenting approach that’s perfect for their family. I mean, seriously, nobody else is quite like The O’Briens.

It doesn’t matter what age your children are, anyone can put themselves back in control by using the tools Jodie provides. The AAA Parenting Tool is my fave. And no, it has nothing to do with using batteries. We’re now creating our own little O’Brien Parent Blueprint.

***

Here’s an extract from the book which particularly resonated with me:

This is what I value, this is what I believe

Not so long ago, I had a major meltdown

I was de-motivated about my work and I felt uncertain and unsure. This was confronting because I’m normally highly motivated, goal orientated, and very sure about what I want to achieve.

But I was forced to stop everything, sit back, reflect and make some decisions. Difficult decisions.

This process involved a number of stages.

Firstly, I had a major freak out. The freak out was the warning sign that my life wans’t how it should be. Freaking out wasn’t a pleasant experience, but, as I later realised, it was necessary.

Secondly, I went through a stage of feeling incredulous. I didn’t believe there was anything wrong with my life. What could possibly be wrong? THERE IS NOTHING, I REPEAT, NOTHING WRONG! But there obviously was.

Stage three involved avoidance. I wasn’t motivated to work hard so I created distractions like reading and re-reading the Twilight books. It was enjoyable and indulgent, but only for a while.

It was time to face facts. I realised that working too many hours and putting too much pressure on myself at work and at home was not sustainable. I had to be honest. I had to get real.

Next, I spent time reflecting on what was important to me. I asked myself some tough questions and really listened to my gut. Why was I working so hard? For what end? Who was benefiting? Me? My family? Is there another way to do this? How can I make this better?

Then, I made some difficult decisions. They included selling my corporate business to focus on Parenting Wellbeing, and scaling back my working hours so I didn’t miss out on my kids.

Finally, I moved onto a happier stage where I felt physically healthier and more fulfilled. I was still working hard on my business but in a smarter and more sustainable way and I had more energy and emotional capacity for my family.

Turing a meltdown into a valuable learning experience involved me assessing my values and beliefs.

***

Jodie is also running a new 12 week Parent Manifesto program

AND

a free webinar next week:

Parenting enemy #1: Everyone else knows best (or do they?) During the webinar I’ll be providing valuable information such as:

· The 5 parenting pressures that are keeping us from having a great family life

· The top 5 things that parents really want

· The 3 things kids really need from us as parents

· How one parent overcame her struggle with dealing with others’ opinions about her parenting (including her own mum’s)

· How you can separate helpful and unhelpful parenting advice, and parent a little more confidently

It will take place at 8pm AEST time on Thursday, 26th April. Visist: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/787159231

So, what was the worst piece of parenting advice you received? And what was the best advice you were given?

April 19, 2012
Warning! Baby brain may result in foot in mouth disease
EVER said something that by the time you realised what you’d said it was too late to take back and as a result you looked like a douche bag?

Well, not so long ago someone was kindly commenting on how they enjoyed reading my newspaper column about my pregnancy, birth and rearing Ella during her first year. They said they enjoyed it because their granddaughter was a month younger and so it helped them anticipate what was coming next. She said a month after I wrote something her granddaughter would be doing it – ie rolling, walking, talking etc.

My response: “Oh, I used to write them a bit in advance, so she would have done a lot of that stuff for a few weeks before it got printed?’’

I smiled, then wondered why everyone in the room was giving me death stares. A quick rewind in my brain as to what I’d just said and I realised I was implying her granddaughter was slow.

All of a sudden the clock was telling me it was time to go home.

Does your brain and mouth sometimes not work in sync?
- The Only Hearts Should Be Worn On Sleeves: The Snotty Truth About Motherhood ebook will be released Monday, April 23.
April 9, 2012
Another look inside the upcoming ebook

Here’ another excerpt from the April released ebook. And it now has a title: Only Hearts Should Be Worn On Sleeves – The Snotty Truth About Motherhood.

We’re getting closer (and extremely nervous)…

The bump

All-day sickness — milk it for all it’s worth

Vomit, wind, dribble and burping — and this is all before the baby’s even born. To be honest, right now I’m in the midst of the easy part of being knocked up. The worst I have to complain about is being kicked in the guts repeatedly or having a foot poke out from under my skin.

It’s a far cry from those challenging early days, trust me. In the initial months, a Queensland holiday sounded like just what the doctor would have ordered — except that the doctor probably knew better.

Having scoffed at women who carried on about morning sickness (oh please, it can’t be that bad!), my payback was falling victim to something that combined sailing, show rides and partying — or rather seasickness, dizziness and hangovers.

And morning sickness, my foot. Try all-day sickness. Mind you, for two months I got breakfast in bed every morning and my dinner cooked every night (couldn’t stand the fumes.Honest!).

But back to the holiday. Arriving at a Gold Coast shopping centre, 15 minutes in I start to turn green. Then there’s panic. No toilet. No rubbish bin. No time to think. So I just close my eyes, bottom up, head down and heave. When I open them again, two women are staring at me like I’m a junkie, while I stare at a once immaculately manicured garden, now far more colourful than before.

I’ve never been so glad to get home from a holiday — there’s nothing quite like spewing in your own toilet.

While the worst part is that all-day sickness arrives just before you’re able to announce you’re preggers (try explaining to work mates you’ve still got your 24-hour bug two weeks on), the best part is stringing the sickness out just that extra month longer. Come on. Breakfast in bed is hard to give up.

Read another excerpt from the book.

What was the early stages of pregnancy like for you? Did you suffer morning sickness?

March 22, 2012
A sneak peek at the soon-to-be-released ebook

Yes, you read right. I’m giving you a little sneak peek inside the long awaited ebook from my popular newspaper column, Mum’s the Word. The ebook will be released in conjunction with Fairfax’s The Advocate Newspaper in Tasmania.

To get you all up to speed, back when I first became up the duff with Princess Ella, I began writing what was a light-hearted and humorous look at having a bun in the oven. Once Ella was born, readers requested it continue and so the columns went on to document the first year of her life – the good, the bad and the down-right hilarious.

The series was read by a readership of 90,000, yet many of my readers here on the blog know little about it. So this is my chance to share that story with you. But the real reason? Four years on, The Bloke in The Shed and I receive comments weekly about that column -what parts they could relate to, what made them laugh and what was happening in their child’s life at the time. Can I add, a large number of these are middle-aged men. No joke.

One of the reasons for introducing you to this just before it’s released is because we’re on the hunt for the best title for the book. Whoever can come up with the title that wins our hearts – and maybe even makes us laugh – will score a credit in the book!

Here’s the first column in the book for a bit of inspiration:

Nauseous, patronised and fat — but happy

August 15, 2007

PEOPLE ask ‘‘how are you feeling?’’ like I’ve been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I’m just up the duff, for Pete’s sake. And if it is a disease, for me at least, it wasn’t that easy to catch — despite the warnings.

What you don’t learn — until now — is that there’s this minute window of ovulation each month, which will have you running to the bedroom faster than a cheetah chasing a limping gazelle. Sorry, nan. Perhaps you better go and make that cup of tea now.

Now, there’s some tragics — who shall remain nameless — who try to help the little blighters in their swimming endeavours by raising their legs in the air after ‘‘the deed’’. Come on. We all know it’s easier to swim with the current, not against it.

Mind you, the other theory is that you only want the toughest swimmers, not some measly little tadpole that got through on a free ticket. Just because Steven Bradbury won a gold medal, it doesn’t make him a legend.

If you want to get technical, you can go into the whole lunar moon thing, which gives you a second crack each month at scoring. But, in the end, the mission was achieved and no, it’s no disease.

Unless you count the first four months, where I felt like I’d been on the biggest New Year’s Eve bender —just the spewy end of the bender, minus the high. Plus, I look like I haven’t slept for a month after stumbling from my slumber for a leak for the third time in one night and being kicked awake in-between.

My tummy looks like I’ve indulged in Christmas lunch every meal — with beers — for the past six months. And you leak from everywhere. Trust me, it’s gross. OK, so maybe there’s reason to think I have The Pregnancy Disease.

But the worst of it is the baby eating my brain. Those times when you put the Cornflakes in the fridge or leave the paid-for groceries at the supermarket, happen regularly. But seriously, I have nothing to complain about, in fact, it’s been one of the most amazing things I’ve . . . Sorry, what was I saying?

February 29, 2012
Chewy chocolate mousse surprise with #AllBran Fibre Toppers

Just like some people are folders and some are scrunchers (we’re talking fibre, right?), others like foods that are chewy and others like crunch. Maybe the real beauty of Kelloggs’ newly released All Bran Fibre Toppers is that it’s pretty versatile in its ability to provide recipes that are sweet, savoury, crunchy or chewy.

So, since we’ve covered savoury and crunchy, my second attempt at what I’m calling the All Bran Mystery Box Challenge is to create something that’s sweet and chewy.

We’re again pulling out the Tasmanian foods as part of our new Tasmanian food series (inspired by Kelloggs itself) and have created a Chewy Chocolate Mousse Surprise. The chewiness comes from the addition of a cup of Kelloggs All Bran Fibre Toppers (providing 66% of your daily fibre requirements) and the surprise is in one cup of juicy craisins. There’s also the little addition of Fibre Toppers sprinkled atop the decadence.

While there are a few ingredients in here likely to rule me out of the trip to BlogHer in New York as part of the Kelloggs cooking competition – the brief was for “healthy’’ recipes – this still at least shows you what’s possible. Plus we all need a “well rounded’’ diet, right? Right?

Chewy chocolate mousse surprise with #AllBran Fibre Toppers

Ingredients:

300g Cadbury cooking chocolate (dark chocolate is the healthier option, lowering blood pressure and fighting disease), broken into pieces

3 eggs

1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar

1 tbs good-quality cocoa powder, sifted

1 cups of Kelloggs All Bran Fibre Toppers

1 cup of craisins (original flavour)

300ml thickened cream

Extra whipped cream, All Bran Fibre Toppers and craisins to serve

Method:

Place the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water making sure the bowl isn’t touching the water. Stir as it is melting, it won’t take long. Set aside to cool.

Place eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes or until mixture is pale and a thick volume. Fold in cooled chocolate and cocoa powder until combined.

In a separate bowl, whip cream until thickened (be careful not to overdo it).

Sprinkle in the All Bran Fibre Toppers and craisins into the chocolate mixture. Don’t mix in just yet.

Use a large metal spoon to carefully fold the cream into the chocolate, All Bran Fibre Toppers and Craisins mixture now, trying to keep the mixture as light as possible.

Spoon into six glasses and chill in fridge for at least one hour. Remove from fridge 15 minutes before serving, then top with extra whipped cream, All Bran Fibre Toppers and craisins.

Do you like crunchy or chewy foods?

February 26, 2012