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Tag: family

When did being a mum become so complicated?

At what point did parenting become more complex than a Rubiks Cube after someone’s tampered with the stickers? Sorry, that was usually me. A week or so back I saw Kochie (of Sunrise fame) tweet:

Gee Poppy, dates to park are complicated… Sunscreen, hats, drinks, snacks, spare nappy, clean clothes. Was it always this complicated?

It’s one of the reasons I’m happier sitting on the couch watching the princesses slide down the indoor slide. Now to figure out how to get a swing set through the door.

A fellow mum and I were discussing the “old days’’, when you were brought up by your mum, your nan, your aunties and half the neighbourhood who, really, just told you to “go outside and play’’. What exactly were all those women doing inside, anyway? They certainly weren’t on Facebook.

Nowadays, we mums do much of the parenting role alone (unless you struck gold in the partner stakes). We sometimes also work or run businesses, we juggle five social media accounts and still manage to declutter every inch of our homes.

We put added pressure on ourselves that our children’s Pumpkin Patch outfit stays clean, that their hands are constantly sterilised, they’re fed wholesome meals made from scratch (well, the packet says “homemade’’. Or is that “HomeBrand’’?) and their ponytail sits at a 45 degree angle from the top most point of the head. You do that, right?

What happened to sending them out in the same pair of clothes they wore yesterday? Letting them eat a little dirt, along with some extra protein goodness via a worm or two? Why can’t their hair look more akin to a member of Rolling Stones than Justin Beiber?

I think as parents, we’re our own worst enemies. Sure, keep our kids safe with sunscreen, boundaries in which to play and curfews. But do we go overboard when it comes to letting them be kids? Aren’t kids meant to have faces full of snot, dirt on their knees and a nappy showing off their plumber’s crack?

Are our kids just too… perfectly pampered? Should we get rid of this notion of the perfect parent and cut ourselves some slack? The important thing, after all, is that our kids are healthy and happy. Right?

What do you think? Is parenting getting far more complicated? And who’s to blame? *runs away quickly*

March 16, 2012
The idea of a little brother given the chop: The aftermath

If you have a husband/partner/boyfriend contemplating having a vasectomy, this post may help answer some questions and shed some of those fears. WARNING: If operations make you squirmish, probably best not to read this one.

By Julian O’Brien

The anaesthetist peered down at me as I lay on the table. “You’re lucky it’s a hot day,’’ he said. Puzzled, I shot him a questioning look. “Well, it makes the operation go quicker if things are hanging low and not retreating,’’ he said. And that was the last thing I remember.

Waking up what seemed like hours later after my vasectomy, which happened on the morning of the Labor leadership challenge, I was ashamed my first slurred words on waking were … “so, is it Julia or Kevin?’’. Yep, weird I know – not entirely relevant to the situation I found myself in.

Sitting in my robe awaiting the surgery, it had seemed like an eternity to get to that point. Truth be told, it was. You see, Princess Kel and I had talked about this a long time ago (even pre-marriage) and decided, should we be lucky enough to get our two children, I would bear the burden of birth control. It’s an incredibly personal choice and not for everyone.

One thing is reinforced through the whole process and that is: While there is an outside chance of reversal once done, the operation should be considered terminal for your “little squigglies’’. It’s not a decision we’d taken lightly and we’d received good advice to take our time with it as I’d spoken about in my first post on the topic.

Strangely, I went in to the operation with very few nerves at all. It was a relatively straight-forward procedure. Post op I sat enjoying a sandwich and a coffee when the nurse said to me, “he (my surgeon) doesn’t usually give you any stitches, he just leaves a hole’’. At my first opportunity, I grabbed a sneaky look and, sure enough, there was just one single hole. (Can someone pick my wife up off the floor please, she gets a bit queasy).

Anyways, the post-op pain was OK, but I did decide to take a couple of the prescribed painkillers. That feeling was worse than the operation. For the next few hours I laid on the couch watching the roof spin before they wore off and I pledged to stick to nothing but Nurofen from that point.

I’ve taken the medical advice and taken it relatively easy since. Thing seems to be going OK. The process now? Well, I’ve got eight weeks to work the remaining “little squigglies” out of the system fully (vasectomy bonus!) before I book a date with a specimen jar and pathology. That’s one story I’ll leave well alone.

If you have any questions at all, I’m more than happy to answer them.

March 2, 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
The idea of a little brother given the chop

By Julian O’Brien

Princess Ella must have a sixth sense. Lately she’s been asking constantly for a “little brother”. Now that Baby Holly is no longer a “baby” and can more than hold her own, Princess Ella is after someone else to boss around. Every time Ella asks, I struggle to find the words to explain, but there will be no little baby brothers, or sisters, for that matter.

You see, today is the day of “The Snip”. I posted a little while ago when the vasectomy was first booked in and it seems like time has flown towards the operation day. Princess Kel and I had always planned only two children and the snip was always the preferred option for us, but everyone is different.

Strangely, I’m not at all concerned about it to be honest. I’ve read all the provided material, I’m in the hands of a very good surgeon and I’ve spoken to others who have gone through it. Princess Kel is far more squeamish than I am about it and couldn’t even bare to look at the diagrams in the information booklets posted from the hospital.

In another twist of fate I saw on Twitter ABC personality Adam Spencer tweet last week that he’d undergone “the snip’’ and had posted a pic of himself with his “best friend” … a bag of frozen peas.

I tweeted Adam and was surprised to get this message back:

“It’s not that bad actually mate – I went the big freeze as a precaution but am pea-free today – cheers’’.

Here’s hoping on a pea-led, quick recovery.

How did you (or your hubby) cope post “the snip”?

February 27, 2012
#AllBran and Wakame crusted Petuna Ocean Trout

Before the princesses came along, there used to be quite a lot of experimenting go on in the O’Brien kitchen. There was even a bit of competition as to who would be in control of the oven and “who’s meal reigned supreme’’ at the end of the week. And yes, sadly we’re Iron Chef fans.

When Kelloggs submitted a challenge to a host of mummy bloggers to create a dish using its newly released All Bran Fibre Toppers, a spark was reignited in me. Not more so because the carrot dangling from the end of the Fibre Toppers box was a trip to New York to experience BlogHer (one of the world’s biggest blogging events). Now there’s an idea, Fibre Toppers Carrot Cake…

Of course, I wasn’t about to pull out any Iron Chef-style shark fin dishes. And yes, I can hear a chorus of mothers right now saying I shouldn’t knock something before I try it. But shark fin? Really?

However, I did decide two separate studies revealing children don’t eat enough seafood and fibre was enough reason for this Taswegian to pull out the seafood/All Bran card. Just half a cup provides 33% of your daily fibre requirements. Not than No. 2s are an issue around here.

I might not be Tetsuya Wakuda, but I sure know how to create a healthy winner for the O’Brien dinner table. The hungry devils loved the crunch of the All Bran Fibre Toppers and flavour from the herbs and wakame. And just wait till you see what was for dessert.

All Bran and Wakame crusted Petuna Ocean Trout

Ingredients:

2 cups of All Bran Fibre Toppers

1 cup parsley leaves

1 cup basil leaves

Sprig of thyme

5 cloves of garlic

3 sheets of wakame (dried seaweed, washed and chopped)

4 Petuna Ocean Trout portions, skinned and boned (Tasmanian seafood really is quality)

1 egg, beaten

Method:

Wash and dry the herbs with paper towel and combined with the garlic and wakame in a food processor until finely chopped.

Stir in the All Bran Fibre Toppers.

Seal the Ocean trout portions by frying in a very hot non-stick pan. This should take no more than a couple of minutes for both sides. Dip one side of the Ocean trout in the beaten egg and then into the All Bran and Wakame mixture.

Bake the Ocean trout in a moderate to hot oven (200C) with the crust side up for a few minutes.

Serve with vegetables (in our case, some beautiful new potatoes).

PS. You can check out all the recipes submitted for the challenge by searching the #AllBran hashtag on Twitter.

PPS. This has ignited a fire in me and reminded me of my love of Tasmanian food – and good food in general – so I’m starting a Tasmanian food series here.

Do you have any favourite recipes you could incorporate All Bran Fibre Toppers into?

February 25, 2012
How having a baby has changed Beyonce

SINCE having baby girl Ivy Blue Carter with rapper Jay-Z yesterday, it’s clear to me motherhood has already changed singer Beyonce Knowles. Just checkout the Facebook conversation I was involved with last night.

Faces and names were deleted to protect the innocent. To take part in our Facebook conversations, connect with us on Three Li’l Princesses’ Facebook page.

So today, the question is: how has motherhood changed you?

January 9, 2012