All Mum Said

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Archives for 2012

Safe & Happy Merry Christmas

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I just wanted to wish each and every one of readers a very happy and safe Christmas break. Take care of yourselves and enjoy the time with your family and friends.
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Thank you for your support over the past 8 months; you have all been an incredible inspiration to me and I love that so many of you are now interacting more and I feel like I’m getting to know you all so much better. You are all wonderful! Thank you.

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I am taking a few days off to spend with the family over Christmas but I will back New Year Eve. You will probably still find me updating the facebook page so feel free to leave comments, questions, messages as I will still read and respond to them during this time.
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Don’t forget to enter the new giveaway on the blog – the winner will receive their choice of Air Protect car seat from the website!! Valued anywhere between $200 – $500.  

 

TAKE IT EASY & ENJOY YOURSELF!

Child Car Safety + Amazing Giveaway!

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Choosing a car seat for your babies and/or children is always a big decision as there is nothing quite as important as child safety, especially in the car. There are so many different brands, styles and stages of car seats that it does make it extremely difficult to decide which is best for your family. It tends be the woman/mother who purchases and installs the car seat and I believe more men/fathers need to be more aware of the importance of these contraptions. I am pretty lucky; my husband has always shown a huge interest into the safety of our boys in the car and installed them almost each and every time they are required to be done.


Maxi-Cosi Hera

 

I have been fortunate enough to be sent a new and innovative product on the market that combines the new technology of Air Protect with practicality and style. Maxi-Cosi protects your childs head from side impact reducing crash forces that may occur through the precise release of air. It is officially one of the worlds safest car seats as it has surpassed the worlds toughest safety tests and not only that but the Air Protect well and truly exceeds Australian testing (which is one of the strictest in the world). I received the Maxi-Cosi Hera to review which is perfect for newborn-4years. It is brilliant as it is suitable for all ages until they require a booster seat. It is soft and padded enough that the baby can enjoy long drives but still firm enough that it supports them. It has so many benefits that I cannot list them all but my favourites are the 6 point harness and tether strap, the machine washable covers (this is a must for me!), 3 adjustable base positions and of the course the new Air Protect technology. This seat will be perfect for the new addition to our family when it arrives; our 3 year old has given it a good go and has had only one thing to say about it – “It’s so soft!”. When he falls asleep in the car the air pockets are great as well because they act like a built in pillow – no more stiff necks!

As you can see this is very popular with me and I’m so pleased I have had the opportunity to learn about this new product and at the perfect time to add the cherry on the top. As I mentioned before the prices of car seats do vary and while this particular seat retails for $449 I would say it is a very smart investment, if this is above your budget don’t fret as there are cheaper models that provide the same Air Protect technology. See website here.

 
 

 

Did I mention I have 1x Air Protect car seat of choice from the website (valued at $200-$500) to giveaway to one lucky reader? Well I do!

Follow the prompts on the rafflecopter below to enter.
If entering using Anonymous you must leave a name & email address that you check in case you are the winner.

Failure to do this will result in your entry being null & void

GOOD LUCK & Merry Christmas

Disclaimer: I have not received any cash payment for this review/giveaway. I did however receive a Maxi-Cosi Hera to review.

Pregnancy ~ Positive Or Negative?

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Those 3 minutes (that felt like a lifetime I might add) were spent staring at this small white piece of plastic just waiting and watching to see how many lines appeared but not wanting to know at the same time. It is amazing at how many thoughts can go through your mind during this time. What if it’s positive? Does some part of me want it to be? Surely not but possibly. Still waiting….  Will I be disappointed if it’s positive? No it would just be surprising.  Oh what am I thinking it’s going to be negative! I am on the pill; obviously I’m not that naive into thinking it is 100% fool proof method but still.
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I watched with anticipation as the urine spread its way across test and control region of the pregnancy test. So many emotions and they are all conflicting and not one is stronger than the other. My husband and I have never really run by a specific life plan – we take everything as it comes and we find that this works well for us. If we weren’t so easy going and adaptable we’d be screwed! In the final 30 seconds I came to the conclusion that what will be will be. If it’s positive than it was obviously meant to be.
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I look down at the test and what do I see? Not 1 but 2 pink lines! It’s positive. We are going to have another baby. In this moment my first initial thought was ‘oh shit’. Ok to be honest this thought stuck with me for roughly 8 weeks. 8 very long weeks! It wasn’t that I didn’t like the idea of having another baby it was that in my head I was convinced we were done and it hadn’t quite sunk in that I was pregnant again. I always wanted 3 kids but the husband only wanted 2 and as the age gap grew larger I felt it was time to let it go.  Hahaha – a bit too bad for him now – he was thrilled when I told though.

 

I am now 15 weeks pregnant and everything is looking great! We are all very excited about the soon to be new arrival to the family. Now we have to begin the purchases AGAIN as we got rid of everything we had for babies and now we will have to start from scratch. Not to mention that I already look like I’m 6 months along and I have about 4 outfits left that fit so I am in desperate need of larger clothes as well.   

The 20 week scan will uncover the sex of the little squishy taking residence in my belly. We would be more than thrilled with either sex; either way we are all happy!

The One Where Life Throws Me a Curve Ball

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You know that moment where you know or at least think you fairly sure you’re done having kids? Well I reached this point after realising I no longer have to wipe dirty bums, change nappies, make bottles or ensure there are no little pieces of anything on the floor that a baby could choke on. Life is good. Life is getting easier. The kids are becoming more and more independent and I love it. Why would I want to go back to a crying baby, night feeds, early mornings, dirty nappies, dummies, bulky baby furniture and having baby toys everywhere? Not to mention having to lug a pram everywhere I go.  Well there is the fact that they are cute as hell and yes sometimes my hormones need a swift kick up the arse when they make me feel clucky but besides that I’m good. I think the fact my youngest turns 4 in February makes it easier as well as I never wanted to have a huge gap between kids. There are 2 years and 1 month between my boys and I always thought a maximum of a 3 year gap between Kye and baby number 3 would be great. Alas 3 years have come and gone.  

 

No more than a month after reaching this conclusion of I’m done having babies; I started feeling really queasy. I was convinced I had come down with a bug until I woke with the most tender breasts. Perfect timing – a horrible bug and my period is due! Could this week get any better? It wasn’t until my bug began to get worse and seemed to stick around for longer than the standard 24-48 hours that the thought of ‘Oh Shit maybe I’m pregnant!’ popped into my head. I disregarded this thought very quickly however because I knew I was on the contraceptive pill and hadn’t missed even 1 day in the past 3 months (this is a huge feat for me which proves how adamant I am about being done having kids). I also threw this theory out the window as with both of my boys I didn’t feel sick until the 8 weeks and the sore boobs didn’t start until well after that.
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What kind of horrible bug have I caught? My period was late by a few days but as it has never been very consistent and I once again thought that doesn’t mean too much; I figured with the stress of building our house and it being so close to completion and Christmas coming up way to quickly has worn my immune system down. I hate how the second you have a symptom or two of pregnancy you start to freak out even though so many other things cause the same symptoms. The joys of being female I suppose. It had been a week and my bug didn’t seem to be getting any better so I headed to the shop to buy a pregnancy test.

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Why are these simple little sticks so daunting? It doesn’t matter whether you are hoping for a positive result or a negative result there is always a 50% chance you will be disappointed or basically scared shitless of the result. I got home and ripped the plastic cover off, grabbed the test out and did what I had to do to put my mind at ease; I peed on the stick and began the 3 minute wait. While we wait for the results I would love to hear if you have ever had a scare and what made you decide that you were done having babies or not done yet?  This would have to be the longest 3 minutes in history!
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Waiting, waiting, waiting.   


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The results are in……


Tips on Choosing Health Insurance

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10 Tips Choosing Family Health Insurance
This post is sourced through Choosi
Health insurance can be a massive part of family life whether it’s for a period of travel or for your life in general. Most people only think of themselves when it comes to health insurance, this is by no means due to an inherent sense of self centeredness, on the contrary, many parents think first bout themselves when it comes to health as they are the providers for the family and if anything happened to them the whole family would suffer. You must still consider though that your children are extremely accident prone and the cost of medical bills is the same whatever your age. If you are thinking of purchasing a family policy, there are a few things you need to consider:
1.      The benefits – Try to find a policy that gives you the best in terms of extras, many companies throw in extras when it comes to family policies so be on the lookout for anything that will save you money in the future.
2.      Always Compare – Comparison should be like second nature when it comes to any type of insurance especially private health insurance. But don’t just go for the best price, try and decipher what deal will be best value for money and how much it will save you in the long run.
3.      Haggle – Get quotes from many different companies and play them of against each other. It’s not being deceitful; it’s all part of being a shrewd consumer.
4.      Students – Anyone who is unmarried, a dependant of yours but is in full time education, training or apprenticeship could still be claimable under your policy. If you have any children going into higher education make sure you pick a policy that covers all of your needs.
5.      Tax Threshold – If you are under one policy as a family, your income threshold for the Medicare levy surcharge will go up by $1,500 per child. This could save you paying extra money in taxes.
6.      Act Quickly – Many family health insurance premiums are based on the time in life both parents took the policy out. If both parents are under 30 when the family policy is taken out, there will be a much smaller premium to pay than if both were over 30. The premiums will go up a little each year of hesitance after the age of 30 so it really does pay to act quickly when it comes to a family policy.
7.      Update – If something changes in the family, any circumstance, from something as small as a minor injury to a new addition to the family, make sure you update your policy as soon as possible.
8.      Flexibility – When you initially take your policy out, think about how many changes are likely to come your way. There is no way of telling the future of course but you should always err on the side of caution and pick a policy you know will be flexible and allow you to make changes.
9.      Pass it on – If you do find good deal tell your friends about it. Many companies have a rewards policy that you can take advantage of.
10.  Always Read the Small Print – This may see obvious but you really need to make sure you know how and when you will receive any payment if the worst were to happen. You need to make sure you understand completely the process you will have to go through in order to make a claim.

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