When did you last go to the dentist?

By Bec

Following on from Becky's blog post When did you last get a skin check I'm going to ask, when did you last go to the dentist?

I think us Mums tend to put lots of things off for ourselves, as we are busy looking after our kids.  We take our kids places for check-ups, dentist, immunisations, 2 year old health check, 4 year old health check and so on.  But what about us Mums? 

I had a regular annual visit to the dentist before my son was born.  Each year I would get my letter, make my time and go.  Easy, wouldn't think anything of it.  I went when my son was 3 months old, and hadn't been back since.  He is now 4.5 years old.  Well that was a mistake!!

I went to the dentist just recently as I thought I had a hole at the front of one of my bottom teeth.  The hygenist suggested I have x-rays done as I hadn't been for a while (read 4 years).  Well, the tooth I thought had a hole, turned out to be a build up of plaque - easily fixed with the hygenist's clean.  The x-rays however showed some frightening results.  I had a tooth, pretty much eaten away.  It was under an old filling (which had come a bit loose), so not noticed by just looking.  And wasn't causing me much pain as the nerve has slowly been killed.  They sent me off to have full x-rays, which confirmed what they thought. 

The tooth has to go.  The hole is so deep it's gone down to my bone...and the longer we leave it the more the tooth will decay, which means it may start breaking and be very hard to remove.  So I now have an appoitment with a oral surgeon (at $100 just for the inital consult).  So the dentist gave me some options to fill up the gap from removing a tooth - the one she recommended is a tooth implant - $4,500 she tells me.  Yes you read right - $4,500 for 1 tooth....my jaw dropped.  So I stressed, I don't want a hole in my mouth, but I can't afford $4,500 for a new tooth.  I've given up stressing about it until my first appoitnment where I can talk options - but that's not until the end of May (these surgeons are so busy!!).

So my advice to all Mums, look after yourselves, and remember to brush twice a day and floss daily!!   I wasn't a big flosser - so have just started doing it regularly.  I'm a bit un-coordiated at it at the moment, but the dentist assures me it gets better with practice.  So I'm practicing. 

When was your last dentist appoitment?  Don't put it off any longer?  Make one now (and this goes for all things such as pap smears, eye check, any medical issue that may be niggling you)..

I'm the new mummy blogger

by Victoria

Hi, I'm the new mummy blogger at Little YoYo Styles, Victoria B. I'm glad to be a part of Little Yoyo Styles mummy blogging team comprising Bec, Becky and Louisa.

Originally from Singapore, I was introduced to the beauty of Australia when I commenced and completed my university studies at Gippsland. It was at university that I met my then-boyfriend and now-husband, Mr B. After university, I returned to Singapore for 6 years to work (we did nurse a 6 year long-distance relationship) and then made the permanent move to rural Victoria in 2005. The change from city living to country living took abit of an adjustment initially. Although I wouldn't say I'm totally comfortable being a country girl, I think I'm getting closer everyday.

My university qualification is in journalism and communications and I'm currently studying for my planning one. I worked for 6 years in the arts industry in Singapore and loved it. When I made the move to Australia, I was fortunate to have a journalism job for almost 2 years before deciding on a career change in 2007 in statutory planning with the state government. I am presently working for a local council in strategic planning.

In 2009, our little gem, Miss P, was born. The past 19 months have been such a journey of discoveries, experiences, ups, downs and understanding how torturous sleep deprivation can be. However, we are now in a good place at the moment primarily because Phoebe has been sleeping really well for the past few weeks.

As we meander through motherhood and childhood, I hope to hear about your experiences even as I share mine.

Anpanman hooded beach towel - product review

By Bec

He is not un-happy - we just have problems getting him to smile on camera (my camera isn't fast enough to catch it)!

Not being Japanese, my kids don't know who Anpanman is.  I read on the product tag that he is huge in Japan.  So I spoke to my Japanese friend, who, when I paid closer attention I saw, had Anpanman products everywhere, and yep it's true!  Anpanman is HUGE in Japan.

Despite not being Japanese, my kids loved this towel. My son loved how he could be his own super-hero.  Hunter is 4.5 years old, so you can see the towel would be a good fit from toddlers right up to about 5.  It fit my 2 year old, with more towel around the legs, and she loved how she was kept warm front and back.  All the other hooded towels we have you still have to hold around you to keep your front warm.  Not this one, it has towel at the front and back - quicker drying.  Coming into winter that's important!

Stand out from the crowds with this towel.  It would be a great towel for the beach or swimming lessons.

Check out the  Anpanman hooded beach towel now, currently on sale for $20.05.

Now mind the quality of the video (and the mess of the house)...just showing how my son had fun playing with the towel!

Chicken stock

By Bec

If you have read my previous post about colours, preservatives and ice-cream you will know we did a trial of no colours for my son to see the impact it has on his diet.  Since then we have moved on to also cutting out preservatives and additives.  When I checked the ingredient list of chicken stock I was shocked, really shocked to see the ingredients.  Every single ingredient was on the no list - the ones to avoid.

I had heard of people making their own stock, chicken or vegetable, but always thought, "gosh there is no way I can do that, way too fiddly and hard".  Well was I wrong.  I dug out my Failsafe Cook book (by Sue Dengate) and found an easy recipe.

Here is what I did:
Skinned a whole chicken
Put the skinned chicken in a large saucepan (whole)
Chopped up a leek and 2 stalks of celery put in the saucepan
Put in some dried parsley and sea salt

I then filled the saucepan with water, so the entire chicken was covered.

Popped the lid on the saucepan, and left it to simmer for 2 hours.
Then strain the liquid, chuck the veggies and eat the chicken!

Oh wow, my house was smelling so wonderful after an hour!  And at the end of it I had a HUGE (read huge, I think it will last me all year) pot of chicken stock, and one tender, juicy cooked chicken.  I've been using the chicken in salads and sandwiches...boy is it delicious!

The stock I have been freezing in my awesome QUBIES (ice cube trays will do) and then putting into zip lock bags.  It will also last a few months in your fridge in an air tight container.  And now whenever I need chicken stock, I grab a cube and pop it into my dish and I have the most delicious, "additive free" stock!!

Mother's Day

By Bec

Mother's Day is this Sunday - 8th May.  Besides from breakfast in bed and all those gorgeous presents our kids give us, Mother's Day is a day to reflect on what being a Mum is about.  In today's busy life we get so caught up in our day to day lives and the issues we are dealing with we often forget the joys of being a Mum.  Being a Mum is an amazing job and we should all take a minute to appreciate the good things about being a Mum.  The joys of being a Mum to me are:

• morning cuddles in bed - I love Fridays, my day off from paid work, when my 2 kids get in bed with me in the morning and we snuggle up
• the words "I love you Mum", which my 4 year old says every day I drop him off at kindy
• the paintings the kids make for me at childcare and kindy
• when they learn something new for the first time, makes me so proud
• if I'm upset or have hurt myself my 2 year old comes up to me and pats me on the back saying "okay Mummy?"
• watching my kids play together - my son can be so caring and loving towards his little sister
• having that feeling of unconditional love - you know you would do anything for your kids

So as we come up to Mother's day 2011, take a moment to think about the good things about being a Mum and how your kids have shaped your life!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mums!!!

Plunger Sucker Stand Review

by Becky from beckyandjames.com

When I first received these Plunger Sucker Stands to review I was a tad skeptical that they would work, though cute I couldn't imagine them being very practical. With sickness, moving, teething a busy house and a hospital stay I didn't get to properly test them for some time.

When my mum ordered her iPhone4, I let her have a play with mine so that once hers arrived she would know exactly what to do and suddenly I remembered the little Sucker Stands and got one out for her.

My mum, an avid lover of all things gamey was soon blasting her way through Angry Birds, which was a little bit annoying as I am SO bad at that game! As an accessory for playing all the wonderfully addictive iPhone games out there, the Plunger Sucker Stand is all kinds of wonderful.

Assuming you have a surface to sit it on then you're good to go for easy game play.

It's also great for use as a general stand at night and I have just started using it when I blog from the iPhone. So long as you get the sucker attached properly then there's no slipping or tumbling over which makes using the keyboard easy and not having to use my thumbs to type is a big plus.

You can buy the Plunger Sucker Stand here; it is normally $10 but is currently half price.