Let's hope Ella's new beanie looks better than this one! Sad, very sad.
LAST week I wasn’t able to get around everyone’s giveaways. Something to do with stressing about flying solo with Baby Holly on Wednesday and a bloggers brunch in Sydney on Thursday. So my sincere apologies. Although, some of you were probably breathing a sigh of relief, considering I’ve been scoring quite a few wins in the linky of late.
Only this week I scored gorgeous story starter cards from the lovely Nathalie of EasyPeasyKids and a super cute Beanie Designs beanie from the fabulous Becky from Becky and James.com Do Reviews. And, after all my work of entering these fab giveaways, it’s Princess Ella who reaps the spoils. Go figure!
Want to win too? Then simply start clicking. Good luck…
If you’re a blogger or business wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:
Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately.
Giveaways must be open to Australian residents.
Grab the button to add to your post.
A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
Start entering the giveaways!
This linkup is a combined project with the wonderful Tina Gray from Tina Gray {Dot} Me, who I coincidentally got to meet at the bloggers brunch this week. You can link up your giveaway on either of our sites – it all goes into the one linky.
WHEN Princess Ella was asked not to sit on top of Baby Holly, her response was: “but she’s my best friend’’. Ah, right. It’s fair to say, everyone’s her best friend. But one of her “best’’ best friends is Dora. That’s Dora the Explorer to you and I.
Ella is one of Dora’s biggest fans. Saturday mornings can’t come around quick enough for her weekly fix. Our house is filled with Dora.
The bathroom
The bedroom
And the loungeroom
Yes, that’s Dora’s cousin, Diego.
So there were mini squees of excitement when Ella was told about the limited-edition, interactive DVD, Dora’s first ever karaoke title, Dora The Explorer: Singing Sensation!
There’s another reason this one is just a little bit special, because it has a
yes, a microphone. A limited-edition inflatable microphone as a free gift-with-purchase to be precise. Although someone kept pulling the plug so it ended up a little
limp.
This takes the usual Dora concept of finding her way around the map with friend Boots to a new level, as they go on a sing-along adventure to get to the Pirate Piggies’ Ship. On the way, they pass the Friendship Mountain, The Music School and El Parque.
There are more than 30 songs with a mix of English and Spanish, along with traditional songs and Dora-inspired tracks. Everything from La Musica to Mary Had a Little Lamb and The Backpack Song. (Hmm, now guess what’s stuck in my head?).
Yes, I’ll be honest and say that at times Dora drives me a tad crazy. Maybe it’s the high-pitched voice. One of those in the house is bad enough. However, if it makes this all-singing, all-dancing person happy
then I’m happy. Plus, readers of this blog will know I’m a big supporter of children learning a another language, after Ella learnt sign language from her child carer. If she can learn Spanish from Dora, it saves me a lot of money in tuition.
She hasn’t learnt all the songs yet, but she’s quickly picking them up. The melodies are frighteningly catchy. For children who love to sing and dance, then this one will be a hit.
To go in the draw to win a copy of Dora the Explorer: Singing Sensation!, simply tell us your favourite karaoke song. The giveaway closes Sunday,, July 31 at 7pm and a winner will be drawnrandomly and announced on this blog and via Facebook and Twitter. Australian residents only. Limit of three 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’’.
IF I need the answer to something, I usually ask Twitter. Twitter is so knowledgeable. Did you know it helped my pizza dough rise perfectly on Friday night when the sun decided to go to bed early? Thanks to all the suggestions of putting the oven on low, but the ol’ bathroom IXL Tastic worked a treat.
However, it’s fair to say Twitter didn’t know the answer to whether my readers wanted extra entries as an option in my giveaways. Only you, my readers, could answer that. So I asked. And you answered.
If you can’t read that properly, you can find the results here. And by the way, that’s not to say I won’t mix it up every now again. Got to keep things interesting.
Anyway, back to the important things in life. Like the actual giveaways themselves. Bloggers and business owners, link up your giveaways below. For readers, simply start clicking the links and enter. Good luck…
If you’re a blogger wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:
Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately.
Giveaways must be open to Australian residents.
Grab the button to add to your post.
A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
Start entering the giveaways!
This linkup is a combined project with the wonderful Tina Gray. You can link up your giveaway on either of our sites – it all goes into the one linky.
PS. I have a new poll in the sidebar. Feel free to vote!
IN THE next few weeks I have an important event to attend. Everyone will be wearing designer clothes, while I wear my “breastfeeding outfit’’. There’ll be people with their iPhones and iPads, while I have my little Nokia. They’ll flick their fully styled luscious locks, while I hide my mop with grey highlights. And don’t get me started on the “laugh lines’’. They’re just plain not funny.
If you know of any giveaways where I can rectify all the above, let me know. And diamond earrings. Yes, they’d be nice too. In the meantime, I’m hoping to win from the below list. What’s on your wish list?
Bloggers and business owners, link up your giveaways below. For readers, simply start clicking the links and enter. Good luck…
If you’re a blogger wanting to take part in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup:
Only link directly to the giveaway post/s and include the prize and end date in the linky tool below. Link each giveaway separately.
Giveaways must be open to Australian residents.
Grab the button to add to your post.
A new list is added each Sunday so bloggers need to add their links weekly.
Start entering the giveaways!
This linkup is a combined project with the wonderful Tina Gray from Tina Gray {dot} Me. You can link up your giveaway on either of our sites – it all goes into the one linky.
I'll give you this photo and save you the picture of me in the bath!
WHEN I volunteered to write a post about “me time’’ for mums, I thought how warm and fuzzy that exercise would be. Then I sat down at the laptop to write about my very last “me time’’ moment. (Insert long period of silence and fidgeting of fingers).
Nine months of breastfeeding a bub has meant I’ve been busier than a mosquito at a nudist colony. “Me time’’? What’s that? I don’t even get to go to the toilet alone. Sure, The Bloke in The Shed will argue I’m on the blog, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, 10 email accounts and whatever else I can get my typing fingers on every night. I also had a bath a couple of weeks ago, complete with bubbles. Please, hold me back. The five minutes of bliss before three-year-old Ella came in to ask if I was “having fun’’ was absolute heaven. She then proceeded to try and pop all the bubbles for me. How thoughtful.
In the early months of Baby Holly being born, I dashed out one Saturday afternoon for a quick facial. I say “quick’’, because I had to return within the hour so I could line up at the dairy to be milked. I also have a Mother’s Day voucher for a massage on the kitchen bench. The voucher’s on the bench, not the massage.
During my REAL “me time’’ (aka, breastfeeding at 4am) I often think about how I’d love to spend a night alone in a hotel, with the spa bath full, a bottle of Dom Perignon, girly mags and DVDs, an assortment of Cadburys chocolate and one full night of uninterrupted sleep. But truth be told, I’d hate to wake up alone, without hubby by my side and the girls wanting their morning cuddles and kisses. And whingeing because they’re hungry and want their breakfast. NOW.
So then, what would make me happy? All of this… but at home. For now though, I’ll just have to make the most of pretending to get rice cakes for Ella’s morning tea, all the while dipping into my secret stash of chocolate at the back of the pantry. Shh, don’t tell. By the way, if you want to know what to hide in your pantry, try the Cadbury Dairy Milk Mousse (RRP: $4.20) from Coles, Woolworths, SUPA IGA, Big W, Target, Kmart and other select retail outlets.
Would you like some “me time’’? Of course you would. Then we have five “me time’’ packs to giveaway to mums needing some pampering and well deserved “time out’’. To go in the draw to win one of five “Me Time’’ packs – featuring a block each of chocolate, caramel and hazelnut Cadbury Dairy Milk Mousse chocolate, an Ecoya candle, Palmer’s body butter and a copy of The Devil Wears Prada – simply tell us your last experience of “me time’’. The giveaway closes Sunday, July 24 at 7pm and a winner will be drawnrandomly and announced on this blog and via Facebook and Twitter. Australian residents only. Limit of three 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’’.
PRINCESS Ella crept out from her bedroom one night this week with Motley (the charming name for her new Zhu Zhu pet) in hand. “Mum, he’s making too much noise and just won’t go to sleep. Can you look after him for me?’’ She then turned on her heel and proceeded back to bed. Meanwhile, Motley sat on the kitchen bench making “squee…..squee-squee…..squee’’ noises for the next three minutes.
Ella has always wanted a pet, but The Bloke in The Shed isn’t keen. The other day, when the topic once again turned to getting a pet, I asked “well, what pet do you want?’’
“A giraffe,’’ she said. Oh, of course, what a perfect choice.
“And where would we put him?’’ I asked.
“In the back yard,’’ she said, matter of factly. Silly mum. Where else would you put him?
So since Motley arrived she’s been beside herself. Finally she has her own pet – a hamster – who squees like a blogger, runs around the kitchen like a mad mother and can even power his own Drive-In Movie (well, I can do that too. It’s called a remote and a bean bag).
Ella had a choice between a blue or green hamster. And the Drive-In Movie or the Adventure Ball. She chose the blue one and the movie. I think she thought Mary Poppins might be showing.
Watching a movie together
Motley, her great new companion, is causing plenty of giggles as he chases her around the kitchen. However, there is one slight downside to Motley. My malting hair on the carpet (thanks to breastfeeding hormones) isn’t a good mix with Motley’s little wheels. So he’s a kitchen and dining room pet only. And he chatters a lot. Nearly as much as his owner. Although, thankfully his chatter is at a few decibels lower.
Zhu Zhu pets, voted Australian Toy of the Year Winner for Girls, are a great idea for children 3 years-plus looking for their own “pet’’. I can imagine quite a few boys would enjoy this toy too and all its accessories. He’s the size of a real hamster, a similar weight and makes rather cute noises (if I’m honest) when you press his nose or back – the back button also activates his little wheels. And boy, does he move fast, darting backwards if he runs into a wall (or Mum’s foot). In all, he’s just plain fun.
While there’s quite a lot of Zhu Zhu’s to choose from
there’s just as many accessories and playsets too.
The Zhu Zhu Pets retail for $20 each and the accessories range in price. They are available at Target, Kmart, Big W, Toys R Us and all major toy retailers.
You must be wondering what we’re going to do with the extra hamster and Adventure Ball.
The prize!
Well, your little one has the chance to win them.
To go in the draw to win a Zhu Zhu Pet and Adventure Ball accessory, leave a comment telling us your favourite toy as a child (even if it was a box and string!). The giveaway closes Sunday, August 7 at 7pm and a winner will be drawn randomly and announced on this blog and via Facebook and Twitter. Australian residents only. Limit of three 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’’.
**DISCLAIMER: I received a Zhu Zhu pet and Drive In Movie accessory for review. All opinions expressed are purely my own.
For another chance to win, check out Naomi’s blog. She has a pet and another rather cool accessory to give away.
