Bento-making Mumzilla.

Well, well, well. Who'd thought that me, Miss-lazy-to-DIY-and-hence-buy-alot Veron, would try my hands on bento-making?

 

I was inspired by my mummy-friend, Serene, whose son is in Primary One this year (next year will be my turn. Sobs..) and she's making lunchboxes for him to bring to school. Check out her blog for more home-cooked meal recipes.

 

Out of boredom one day, I Googled "bento box for kids" and Woah, a myriad of tutorials and photos popped onto my browser.

I then went to Qoo10 and bought some bento moulds and tools, and Gosh am I addicted or what!

One evening, after dropping Adam off to his abacus class, I even asked Hubby to send me to the nearest Daiso to buy more tools. I thought I had died and gone to Bento Heaven.

He thought I was insane.

Ta-dah! So many cute food picks and more, for $2 each! Including the Panda lunchbox!
The SkipHop lunchbox is about $20 if I'm not wrong.

Car bread-cutter I got from Qoo10. Sprinklers were gift favours from a friend's wedding.

I need more practice on the dusting of cocoa powder.



Fancy a Mickey bread, anyone?

 

How about an Animal Safari themed lunch box?

I've been making Bentos for Adam since the beginning of school term this year.
He likes it so much that he requested me to make one everyday.
Spoil my own market by having to wake up so early daily and also think of what to make *face palm*
I only make bread thus far (thank goodness not asking me to make Furikake or those complicated Rilakkuma/ panda rice!) because his school actually provides snacks like porridge or noodles on certain days.

If you're interested in making bento-boxes for your school-going child, you can get the tools from:
- Daiso
- Takashimaya basement
- Qoo10
- Meidi-ya at Liang Court

Of course there may be more resources but for a start these shops/ e-shops are more than enough to get you going :)
Say, if you have too much free time on your hands in the mornings and have nothing better to do - like me - you can try your hands on Bento-making.

 

[Sponsored review] My Messy Box sensory play for kids + Discount code and freebie.

After becoming a Mum, I now have absolutely zero desire to be out in town, queuing for the changing room, toilets, carpark, and squeezing in the malls.

 

Sundays are now best for sleeping in, and nua-ing at home.

This arrangement can only be best enjoyed if the kids are kept suitably occupied, without putting their lives in danger.

And by suitably occupied, I don't just mean propping them in front of the TV or Playstation :P

 

Thankfully, the good people at My Messy Box sent us an awesome parcel:

My Messy Box + 1 premium tool kit (*this description will be useful at the bottom of this post) 

Easy peasy, not messy! As long as it doesn't involve lots of cleaning up afterwards, I like =)

Adam and Ashton are proud of their creations :)
P.S. Soak the jelly overnight in the plastic bin and they will become even bigger!

 

This month's subscription theme is - I hope you guessed it - Sea of Dreams.

 

But of course, there are many other themes available too:

 

Check out their website: My Messy Box!

 

 

How is My Messy Box different from the other subscription boxes in the children market?

-Focused on messy sensory play (which explains the rectangular plastic bin and expandable jelly cubes)

 

- The process of play is more important than the end-result. How your child(ren) interact and engage themselves during the play process stimulate their senses and evoke different thought processes.

 

- My Messy Box crafts require very simple steps with minimal cutting/ assembling, which promotes self-play and as little parental involvement as possible.

 

My Messy Box has 3 types of subscription plans:

 

A) 1 month (SGD$34)

B) 6 months + free basic tool kit (SGD$192) - you save $12.

*Basic tool kit includes plastic bin, pail with scoops and apron.

C) 12 months + free premium tool kit ($360) - you save $48.

*Premium tool kit includes what the Basic kit has, but also comes with sorting tray, funnel, sponge, rake, spade, tweezers, pipette, and magnifying glass.

 

Right now, how about some freebies?

My Messy Box is giving away FREE reward charts. All you have to do is sign up for their mailing list.

Look out for this icon on the right hand corner of the webpage.
Once you sign up, an email with the download link will be sent to you.

That's not all.

 

Mumzilla readers can enter the discount code "MUM5" to enjoy 5% discount off your subscription, courtesy of My Messy Box.

 

Check out My Messy Box today.
Check out My Messy Box today.
Check out My Messy Box today.

 

Cheers & hope you had a fabulous weekend!

 

How I reversed Adam's teeth decay and saved myself $3000.

Adam has teeth decay. Holy schmoly!

On 30 Jan 2014 after a routine dental check: CARIES HIGH ALERT!
Adam's regular dentist, let's call her Dentist A, said she wouldn't do it without general anaesthesia because he had a total of 7 cavities, the rest being small ones.
We were shocked because just slightly more than 6 months prior, Adam had 2 fillings done and was discharged with no major teeth issues.
We then brought him to Dentist B for a second opinion, thinking there was a chance she would help Adam with fillings without GA. We were wrong, and $160 poorer for the consultation and dental Xrays. She also suggested more things to be done than Dentist A, which are root canal treatment and crowning. This left me in even greater shock.

I went around asking friends and colleagues, and they mostly agreed that dental caries in children are super common nowadays, and GA is usually required to fix their (milk) teeth.
I've never heard of root canal treatment and crowning for pre-schoolers before this.
In my entire life, I have only had 3 fillings done!

Since Andy wasn't keen on putting our child under anaesthesia for root canal treatment, fillings and crowning, (on milk teeth somemore!) and Adam wasn't complaining of pain or anything, we decided to skip dental surgery and instead, I decided to try my luck on oils once again.

ARE YOU READY FOR THE RESULTS?

On 11 Jan 2015, two weeks later. 12 days, to be exact.
2nd molar has regenerated, and the last molar cavity appears smaller.

Our bathroom now welcome 2 Spidey electric toothbrushes as an addition to their dental regime.

 

Why choose Young Living toothpaste for kids? Here's why:



On top of that, I made my own "dental spray" which consisted of Organic coconut oil, Young Living Wintergreen and Lemon essential oils.
As Wintergreen is a hot oil, I only used 5 drops (+ 5 drops Lemon) with 5ml of coconut oil.
It is very diluted but you can still smell Wintergreen in it if you open the cap. I hope this makes sense to you :)

After brushing teeth, spritz a few drops into the mouth*, targeting the black cavity holes.

*Only therapeutic grade essential oils from Young Living are safe to be ingested!
Please do not ingest or let your children ingest any other brand of essential oil if they aren't therapeutic grade!

 

 Source for graphics: Google images and Pinterest.

As a bedtime routine, I also apply YL Wintergreen and Valor on Adam's jaws: 1 drop of each oil neat (undiluted) on each jaw. Dilution may be necessary if the child finds Wintergreen hot.

Wintergreen is known to reverse tooth decay, build bone density, and Valor is a Chiropractor in a bottle.
Google them for their amazing range of uses and testimonials!

I also recently bought the most expensive fermented cod liver oil and butter oil I could land my hands on.
Read that Cod liver oil is good for strong teeth and overall general health in children.

What's the difference between fermented cod liver oil VS normal cod liver oil?

 [ Fermentation allows the fat soluble vitamins and beneficial oils to separate from the rest of the liver without damaging the fat soluble vitamins (unlike in some methods like heat processing where the vitamins are damaged). This cool temperature fermentation process allows the cod liver oil to maintain its Omega-3, Vitamin D and Vitamin A content. This also makes the nutrients more absorbable to the body ...

 

Unlike many Omega-3 supplements, Fermented Cod Liver Oil is cold processed through fermentation so it retains high levels of fat soluble vitamins and Omega-3s and these are not damaged by high temperatures.

Fermented Cod Liver oil Contains Vitamins A and D, which are both necessary for many aspects of health. While we can get Vitamin D from sunlight, Vitamin A can be harder to consume or absorb and FCLO is an excellent source, and it is difficult to obtain.]

 

Full article here: http://wellnessmama.com/13154/fermented-cod-liver-oil-vs-fish-oil/

 

Thanks for reading our experience on reversing Adam's dental caries. I certainly hope that with continued use of Young Living's oils and continuing our stringent health regime, Adam's teeth will be alright and at least last till his deciduous teeth make way for permanent ones!

So there, here's how we saved ourselves $3000, and the heartache and pain of letting Adam go through dental surgery.
Don't tell your dentist :)

 

 

 

*Disclaimer: this post is to share my personal encounter, and is in no way meant to diagnose or treat any health conditions. If doubtful, always consult a doctor.

This post is brought to you by a state registered nurse, a mum of two, and a healthcare freak.

 

** Thanks everyone for your overwhelming response and enquiries! I have edited this article to add on some answers and additonal graphics/ link to your questions, namely about the use of Wintergreen and the difference in fermented cod liver oil as compared to normal cod liver oil.
I hope you find this article useful :)

Baby Penelope's 1st BIRTHDAY

Our niece (Andy's cousin's daughter) celebrated her 1st birthday last weekend and I always love pink-themed parties and wish I have a daughter myself!

 Time to roll out the pink carpet for baby Penelope's birthday :)

 

 

The hostess with the moistest decked in Minnie polka-dot dress. Cute!

My Adam became so skinny after his food posioning and hospitalization episode while we were in Bali.

Outfit of the day:
Electric blue top: Mango MNG
Skinny jeans: Levis
Shoes: Charlotte Olympia Kitty flats (mega love for this pair as they are sooo comfy)
Bag: Hermes Lindy in Rouge Garance
Other accessories: Christian Dior tribal pearl earrings & Lovisa red necklace

 

 

 

 

It's been quite some time since I posted something personal instead of sponsored.

Thanks for dropping by and have a good day you all.