Baby Holy showing off her tongue-twirling technique (please, turn a blind eye to the dust under the TV)
LAST week Shae from Yay For Home posted about the things she “didn’t know’’. Actually, I could write a book on that subject. But anyway, I digress. So, this week, because I have a burning question I need you all to help me answer, I thought I’d turn the Things I Know post on its head too to try and solve the mystery of what to buy Baby Holly for her first birthday next month.
So, here goes:
I don’t know what to buy a girl for her first birthday when her sister got it all the first time around. Her big sister, Ella, suggested a beach towel yesterday. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that.
I don’t know what to then buy her for Christmas, which is only two months later.
I don’t know if just going for the ol’ books and clothes thing will cut it. Maybe also one of those walker-come-bike contraptions considering she’s yearning to learn to walk at the moment. I’m not so crazy on the walking idea!
I don’t know why it’s so easy to come up with a million ideas for Ella’s fourth birthday, but just one for Baby Holly’s first year celebration is doing my head in. In fact, Ella’s shopping is all done and her birthday is a month later.
So, any help would be gratefully appreciated. Feel free to add links to sites you know and love as well.
THERE’S one thing I’m thankful for when it comes to this blog. Sure, it may take up far too much of my wife’s time, but it’s come in rather handy for storing our fave recipes. Kel’s uploaded what she calls her ultimate dish – Smoked Salmon and Tomato Pasta – and I’ve got my Choccie Hot Cross Bun and Butter Pudding. Yep, I’m a hit in the house with that one.
One of my new favourite recipes is gravy. How To Make Gravy was a sensational song by one of my all-time favourite artists Paul Kelly. The recipe inside the song was quite involved. I’m sure it would have been delicious though.
There’s nothing more I love than a gravy built using the juices from the pan, but when you want an easy gravy for a once-a-week steak night and either don’t want or don’t have any gravy powder, this is a recipe I stumbled upon.
Every time I want to make it, I can’t seem to find it again. So, here it is. Forever etched in the pages of this blog.
PS. It’s surprisingly delicious.
Ingredients
1 large onion (cut into thinly sliced onion rings)
1 tsp salt (more to taste if wish)
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/4 cup cooking oil
3 tbs flour
2 1/2 cups water
1 tbs tomato paste
Chopped chilli to taste could be added (if you were eating without the kids).
Method:
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat and when hot add the flour. Make sure flour is well mixed.
Add the onions. Cook till the onions are golden brown (not black) and coated in the now crusty flour-oil mixture. Might take five or so minutes.
Reduce heat to medium. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste and mix well for a 15-20 seconds (if you want chilli, add it now too).
Now add water, salt, pepper. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer.
Simmer, stirring regularly until you reach your own desired consistency. Add more salt if required. Drain the contents of the pan through a sieve into a bowl, dispose of the onions and there you have it. Or keep the onions in it and you have onion gravy (Princess Ella is not a huge fan of onions yet though).
We’ve even substituted barbecue sauce for the tomato paste when out of the latter with similarly delicious results (just up the quantity a little though).
This easily serves four or five. If feeding more just up the quantities. Enjoy.
What’s your favourite recipe? Do you make your own gravy from scratch?
Linking up with the lovely Kate Says Stuff’s Thankful Thursday. Click on the link to find out what others are thankful for this week.
E is for eyes. I spy with my little “eye”, something beginning with E? Do you?
By Kellie O’Brien
I’m a budding photographer, who is aiming to switch off automatic and use the manual settings on my Canon PowerShot S95 a little more. I love taking photos of her girls, who (so far) are obliging. For more of my photography, visit the Three Li’l Princesses’ photography page, become a fan of my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter or checkout StumbleUpon.
If you would like to contribute a photo to the Alphabet Photography Challenge, a series of posts aimed at being a “look and find” activity for children learning the alphabet, please email.
Linking up with My Little Drummer Boys’ Wordless Wednesday. Click on the link to check out more photo posts.
RIGHT now, Baby Holly is in the midst of Wonder Week 46. So you can only imagine how grateful I was to get hold of the updated, fatter version of the worldwide bestseller The Wonder Weeks book. Yes, the sanity saver book I go on about on this blog, Twitter and Facebook all the time.
Yesterday I read the sections I hadn’t covered in the original version as my fussy baby displayed the three Cs – cranky, clingy and crying. Oh yes, fun times here. The updated version extends beyond the original eight Wonder Weeks to now feature 10 of these fussy, pull-your-hair-out periods in a baby and toddler’s life.
What I’ve loved about the book is it’s a real eye opener to why these cranky pants periods can be so frustrating for babies… and parents. They’re kind of like growth spurts, but for the brain. The book sells itself on exactly what it does: helps you to learn how best to stimulate your baby or toddler’s mental development and turn the hair-pulling phases into leaps forward. It never tries to make you believe it’ll turn your baby into a genius. You’ll need Mozart for that.
I only read the original book each time we were about to embark on another leap to see what the next lot of cognitive growth had in store. So, having now read the entire book, these are the things I loved most about it:
It not only explains why things are happening, but also what you can do to help your baby through it. It means you’ll enjoy your baby more and learn how to better cope.
It’s broken into the different developmental leaps, making it easy to digest. Each “Week’’ is also broken into smaller categories. Plus, it’s written with the everyday parent in mind. Even this sleep deprived mama found it easy to follow.
You’re able to connect with your baby better through the gentle games and activities suggested.
It’s packed with quotes and experiences of real parents (and let me tell you, they’re pretty honest), making you feel less alone during the challenging periods. The book is like your parenting support and instils you with greater self confidence.
There’s a My Diary section to allow you to record your baby’s progress.
The new edition means all those people who wished it was about more than just babies can learn about the developmental leaps right up until 20 months.
The book reassures you that every baby is different. So if you baby isn’t doing it “by the book’’ or what another baby of similar age is doing, that’s OK.
My favourite line from the book is: “we have shown that every baby is `reborn’ 10 times in the first 20 months’’. Lucky we don’t have to go through the labour part as many times.
The book was written by Dutch author Frans Plooij and his wife Hetty van de Rijt, who passed away in 2003. The pair researched parent-baby interactions for 35 years. When Hetty died, the first draft of the last chapter of this revised book was ready.
While there is an app now available for iPads and iPhones, my only suggestion for the author is for it to be released as an ebook. As a breastfeeding mum, my Kobo eReader is lighter to hold and doesn’t require physical page turning while feeding bub.
If you want to learn more about the book, you can:
You could enter the giveaway and score a copy for free.
UPDATE: COMPETITION CLOSED…. To go in the draw to win one of four copies of the new extended version of The Wonder Weeks (ranges in price from $65.95 at Angus and Robertson to $27.62 at The Book Depository) or one of two apps ($1.99 on iTunes), simply tell us three words to describe your baby or toddler right now. The giveaway closes Monday, September 19 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’’.
WEEK two of Naomi from Seven Cherub’sCherish Your Cherubs project is to “remember” a moment of your child/ren’s life. Regular readers will be familiar with my From bump to baby in six hours post. This was Ella’s birth story. It was a dream – six hours, no drugs and a huge three-course meal to follow. Ah, the memories.
However, rarely do I discuss Baby Holly’s birth and I most certainly haven’t recorded it. But I should. Here’s why:
There’s something about our li’l girls and national sporting events. I sometimes wonder if it’s their first little message to their Dad that they’ll forever keep him on his toes. Princess Ella was due Melbourne Cup Day, but came six days later. Much to The Bloke in The Shed’s relief.
Baby Holly was due a week after the AFL grand final. That was until his beloved Collingwood Pies and St Kilda ended the big game in a draw – and had to come back for a rematch a week later. “You know what’s going to happen, don’t you?’’ he asked. “She’ll come right in the middle of next week’s grand final and I’ll miss the game.’’ I laughed – because I’d been thinking the exact same thought.
One week passed. The three of us sat down to watch the big game – again. Well, one of us did. Two of us watched The Fairies. At quarter time, I went off to do what every woman does at this point in a footy game – a whizzer. However, I got more than I bargained for. “Ahhh, I think she might be on her way,’’ I announced on my return. The Bloke in The Shed’s face turned whiter than my legs at the end of winter. Unless of course some major deforestation needs to take place and then who knows what’s going on down there.
His panic was partly because, well, the game’s not over yet and Collingwood were a chance. And partly because Ella came in a major rush and apparently these babies get quicker each time. Should we hit the road now? In typical Baby Holly style, she teased us for the rest of the day. Unlike Collingwood, which pulled off a victory and prompted the first of many tears to come from The Bloke in The Shed over the next 24 hours.
After lying awake all night, by 5am she was well and truly packing her bag and preparing for her journey. I figured I’d best do the same. I woke The Bloke in The Shed and had mum pedal faster than the Flinstones to come look after Ella, who was still blissfully sleeping.
At the hospital we settled into a room and then the bath and then… waited. I was constantly asked if I wanted drugs. I obviously looked like I was in a lot of pain. “No, I’m fine,’’ I said. I’d done Ella’s birth drug free, this one should be a piece of cake. Besides, I don’t do drugs. But I will do a pina colada.
When nothing continued to happen – or not happen –the decision was made to break my waters to get things moving. Bear in mind, I’d only really been in labour a few hours. I was advised pethidine would be a good idea, so I reluctantly took it. And regreted it. But that’s another post for another day. In just seven hours (I know, really, what was the rush?) Baby Holly was on the cusp of taking her first breath. This birth hadn’t gone as I’d planned and was mostly a blur, but it didn’t matter.
At that moment, one of the midwives grabbed our camera. Even thinking about that now makes me shudder. A million thoughts ran through my head. The loudest was: No, woman, put that thing away. Please. Unfortunately, the snaps were taken. It was like the paparazzi chasing Paris Hilton, trying for every angle possible. I kept those photos. I have no idea why.
Within seconds, those thoughts had gone and instead I was totally focused on the li’l princess in my arms. As far as dried up prunes go, she was gorgeous. The tears from The Bloke in The Shed said it all. While those early moments together – just the three of us – were precious, there was a moment that superseded them all.
The magic moment, the one I most want to have recorded, is when Ella walked into the room. She burst through the doors, face beaming and, without giving her Dad or I a second glance, squealed: “Where’s Baby Holly?’’. Just like that. She then ran frantically around the room, trying to figure out where she was meant to be going. It had been such a long nine months for her, that the reality of her sister being here was all too much. The look on her little face when she caught sight of her brought me to tears. She was just so overcome with this little person that would now and forever be in her life.
Nearly 11 months on, that love hasn’t diminished. Constantly I catch them cuddling and kissing each other unprompted. I can’t imagine their lives without each other.
Princess Ella and Baby Holly cuddling
If you have older children, what were their first reactions to seeing their new sibling? What about you – how did you react?
IF YOU’VE ever questioned why you should bother entering the giveaways in the Aussie Giveaway Linkup, let me give you a few reasons:
You could have won a nappy disposal system from Toushka of Toushka Lee.
You could have won a USPA Haircare Set from Jennifer of Jennifer Reid.
You could have won a Donna Hay pack from Veronica ofMama Jots.
And that’s just in the last week. So, get clicking on the picture links. You never know your luck.
And if you’re wondering what we’re doing today, it’s a combination of nappy changing, preparing my hair for an orgasmic experience (did I just write that?) and cooking cupcakes. Yum! The cupcakes, not the nappies.
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. You can link up your giveaway on either of our sites – it all goes into the one linky.
What do you and your family have planned today?
PS. If you’re able to fill in my poll on what time you sign into your Facebook account, you’ll win a smiley face from me!
