Ezpz Playmat [Review and Mumspick Discount Code]

Posted in Online Shopping, Reviews, Tips with Kids, Weekend activities with kids by jahbella

Jah and Bella love to paint, I mean which kid doesn’t love to play with paint right? Problem is, everytime these kids go “mummy can we do painting today?” My answer is almost ALWAYS “ermm no maybe next week ok?” Trust me, it’s not because we don’t have the paint supplies on hand in fact we probably have too much paint supplies, stashed away somewhere at the back of the storeroom. Because every time mummy goes online shopping, it always seems like a fantastic idea to stock up on art and paint supplies for the kids to indulge and play with. Except that paint time never really materialises at least not on a regular basis when I think about the process of hawking over them as they paint and envision cleaning up after.

What could go wrong you say? Well how about how my heart drops when the plastic cup of paint water threatens to topple over when they reach over to rinse their brush or over enthusiastically stir their brushes in the cup. Or when they splatter their paint all over the table or accidentally paint the table as they try to colour near the edges of the paper. Which is also why I make them paint while sitting on the floor which is absolutely horrible, not just their posture but gives us pins and needles all the time.

I know I know, mummy is such a control freak right? :p

But problem solved today when I was introduced to the Ezpz Play Mat. Similar to its other products in its range like the Ezpz Happy Bowl or Happy Mat which is made of a high quality silicon that suctions itself to a table (oh what I would give to have a product like that available when Jah and Bella were little!!! and meal times involve swinging arms and flying plates!) The Ezpz Happy Mat is perfect for painting, Lego sorting, beadwork and necklace making, drawing with dry erase markers or crayons, cookie decorating.

The kids were super excited that they were allowed to sit at the table to paint, without mummy constantly nagging at them to be careful with the cup of water. Or to watch where they are painting (yes mummy is very naggy sigh)

As you can see from the photos, I could fill the centre of the flower design with water for them to wash their brushes and they could use the 5 smaller ‘petals’ for their paint. We used the empty space on the right as their work space. The kids used it to work on painting their leaves and then we later used that space to place half an A3 paper for them to paint on. Yes halving a A3 drawing block paper fit nicely into that space. 🙂

Oh sure we had abit of splattering especially with Miss Bella but nothing that I couldn’t deal with and the aftermath was really quite clean and decent.

In fact cleaning was quite a breeze too because I didn’t have to carry paint brushes, cups and paint palettes on multiple trips and could just stack the play mats and take them to the sink at one go. The mats are bendable so you can still wash them pretty easily even if you have a small sink or wash area. We spent a good 1.5 hours just painting and I just sat there and watch them which made painting so much more enjoyable (for me :p)

For those who are inclined to involve your kids in baking, I think the mat will come in really handy for those little hands to help with kneading or decorating cupcakes or cookies. In fact the play mat is washer, mircrowave and oven safe too.

I foresee using the play mat when Bella gets into crafting and putting together her own little necklaces and stuff but for now painting is going to be so much more fun!

If you are keen to try out this product or other similar products in the Ezpz range, head over to Mumspick website https://www.mumspick.com/ to check it out.

JahBella’s readers are also entitled to a 15% discount on Ezpz products on the website (with no minimum order) from now till 6 February 2017. Just key in Jahbella during checkout for the discount. 🙂

Happy Shopping!

JahBella’s Mummy

Disclaimer: JahBella received 2 Ezpz Play Mats for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

7Nov2016

ErgoSilver Laptop Stand and Riser [Review]

Posted in Home Improvement, Reviews, Uncategorized by jahbella

We have recently just returned for a short weekend trip to Hong Kong but no I will not be writing about that holiday (yet) in this post. Yes that will have to wait (I’m sorry I know I am rather behind in holiday itinerary posts). Rather, I’m going to share with everyone a product that helped me to jump right back into work..comfortably.

A couple of weeks ago I was struggling alittle to equip my new desk at work. My work requires me to be at the computer A LOT…it requires me to read off the screen and type on the keyboard A LOT as well. Most people’s solution to that would be a big computer monitor or even a TV monitor (yes a TV I kid you not 🙂 ).

However I don’t really like big screens, ironically they give me a headache. I honestly much prefer working on my small laptop screen. The problem with that is the fact that the laptop screen would sit directly on the table and the screen would be angled too low. So faced with a choice between hunching over my laptop and using a big monitor screen, I had no choice but to use a big screen. :p Yes first world problems I know.

So when Primero, a website that provides aesthetic, premium and functional laptop stands and accessories approached us to try out 2 of their products, it was perfect timing!

ErgoSilver Laptop Stand

I chose to use the ErgoSilve Laptop Stand because it allows me to place my laptop on the stand and raise it to eye level.I can then utilize the screen of my laptop without adding on an additional monitor. Of course with the entire laptop raised, it also meant that I couldn’t type directly from the laptop’s key board.

I was totally ok with this because this gave me the perfect excuse to get myself a wireless keyboard and mouse which meant less wires on a table already full of wires (charger wire, lan cable, Kensington lock, power adaptor, usb port wires). The stand even had a slot/ space under the raised ‘platform’ to tuck my wireless keyboard away at the end of the day. Needless to say I am totally happy with this new ‘arrangement’ on my work desk.

ErgoSilver Laptop Riser

For those of you who actually prefer less clutter and would like to type directly on the laptop’s keyboard, you would find the ErgoSilver Laptop Riser a good option. Joel uses this option when he is working at home. Due to the space constraint on our study table, there really isn’t much space for an additional keyboard but yet he faces the same issue of the laptop either sitting too low or an uncomfortable typing angle. The ErgoSilver Laptop Riser elevates the laptop slightly and at an angle so that the laptop keyboard is comfortably accessible.

I have to say that we are both super happy with these new additions to our work space. If you are keen to improve your work space as well then head over to Primero’s website where they also have health tips and work functionality tips. 🙂 http://laptopstand.sg/blog/

Happy Working everyone!

JahBella’s Mummy

Disclosure – JahBella received an ErgoSilver Laptop Stand and ErgoSilver Laptop Rise for the purpose of this review. All opinions are our own and no monetary compensation was received.

30Jun2016

Defects Inspection – Absolute Inspections [Media Review]

Posted in Home Improvement, Reviews, Uncategorized by jahbella

The new home which we have waited 3 years and 5 months for, is finally ready! Well ok sort of ready, which explains why we have been pretty quiet in recent times and will be for the next couple of weeks to come.

We have just received keys to our new home but yes with a brand new home comes all the hard work before we get to enjoy it. Taking over the unit from the developer, ensuring everything is satisfactory and that there are no major defects, commencing renovations, furniture deliveries, getting the power, water and internet up and then the big move (again!)…trust me the list is alot longer than this in reality and already I feel tired looking at this list. :p

Because we have decided not to hire an Interior Designer (ID), we had to research, buy, schedule and oversee everything on our own. But yes that’s another post for another day.

However the first order of business for us was really to decide if we wanted to hire a professional defects inspection company to inspect our new place.

For those who may not be familiar with the process, owners of new developments are given a certain window to submit a list of defects found in their unit to their developer, after receiving their keys. This defects list can either be completed by the owners or by a professional defects inspection company.

There are two school of thoughts when it comes to deciding whether or not to hire a defects inspection company. Because the defects inspection company will be very very thorough and detailed and will pick up defects down to the nitty gritty (stains, chips, scratches), some people argue that they don’t have time for the tiny comestic issues and therefore are satisfied with doing it themselves and just picking up the big glaring items.

Some others prefer a professional doing the job because they either don’t have time to pick out the defects themselves or they want to ensure that every single defect, big or small is rectified before moving in.

We, fall in the middle of that spectrum. We have a very tight timeline to meet (1 month to rectify defects, do renovations and move) and really just want to rectify the big issues. However we recognise that not all big issues are glaring and staring at you in your face (eg. hollow tiles and uneven flooring etc). With 2 kids in tow on weekends, we also don’t have the luxury of spending a whole Saturday doing detailed checks around the new unit (I suspect the kids might do more damage in that 1 afternoon then we can find :p). So we decided to hire a professional defects inspection company to conduct the checks for us.

We touched base with Absolute Inspection a few months before receiving our keys and moved our tentative date a few times when our keys were delayed. Wee Kwang from Absolute Inspection was very accommodating, helpful and always responsive. This gave us a lot of comfort because we were already very stressed out by the delay of keys and the last thing we wanted was to be further delayed by a late inspection date.

Because of our packed schedules, I passed my unit key to Wee Kwang a day before the inspection. This way they could enter the unit and proceed with the inspection without me having to be present the whole way. For those who prefer, you can open the unit for them that very morning or even stay throughout the inspection. We chose to come back once the inspection was done for them to run throught the defects found. Wee Kwang and his team took about 6 hours to finish our job.

Checking floor level and uneveness in wet areas.jpeg

Checking floor level and unevenness in wet areas

Checking power points for proper wiring connections

Checking services in false ceiling

Checking for hollow tiles

I had communicated to Wee Kwang earlier that we would only pursue the ‘big issues’ so you would think that they would have just gone for the obvious stuff and done a simplified check. But no, they did a thorough check as they would have done for all customers and I got a defect list with 90 odd number. That being said, they only went through the major issues with us which I was grateful for. 🙂 You will notice little blue post sticks indicating cosmetic defects, all over my walls, all through the unit.

Can you spot all the small post sticks on the wall?

We submitted our defects list to the developer immediately after the inspection and waited for the developer to inform us of our Joint Inspection Date.

The Joint Inspection involves the owner and the developer meeting to run through the defects list submitted and for the developer to acknowledge which ‘defects’ they will be rectifying. Because we hired Absolute Inspection, Wee Kwang was also present for the Joint Inspection. In fact, Joel and I just stood by while Wee Kwang did all the talking.

The wonderful part about hiring a professional to do this, was the fact that I didn’t have the stress of haggling with the developer and their contractor on what was a defect and what was not. Wee Kwang helped to talk them through the defects and at times even offered solutions on how it can be rectified so that the contractor would not try to push it off as difficult or impossible or not a defect. In fact the entire process, was very cordial and stress-free because both parties knew each other from previous project inspections. I had expected the process to be a lot of finger pointing and pushing the blame but it was a far cry from that!

Warped cupboard doors that wouldn’t close properly. We had quite a few of these in the house.

The table top is slanted

Cracks, chips and unsealed areas at the top of doors or cabinets where you may not usually check

Bent balcony grille

Joint inspection

After the joint inspection, we handed our keys over to the defects team to start their rectification. Because we didn’t have many major defects, our entire rectification process took about 2 weeks.

We met up with the defects team after 2 weeks to check that all the rectifications had been made to satisfaction and Wee Kwang was again onsite to conduct the checks.

While most items were rectified, there were still some that were either not done to satisfaction or they might have missed out on. We were blessed with a very hands on defect team/ developer’s rep who immediately called workers onsite to do the touch ups and Wee Kwang was on hand to give specific advice on what needed to be rectified. Some items which were missed out were a slanted switch, kitchen cupboards with hinge issues, touching up of sealant and visible scratches on our balcony door. All of which were rectified on the spot!

Wee Kwang double checking that the door was aligned

Explaining to the contractor what the issue was

Workers polishing my balcony door to rid them of scratches

We have finally completed the defects process which was one of the major concerns we had, going into this. I have to say the entire process was smooth and stress-free because we chose to engage a professional defects team to see to the job.

Now onto the next stage….renovations and furnitures! More on that in a couple of weeks! 🙂

JahBella’s Mummy

Disclosure: We received a media discount in exchange for a media review of Absolute’s Inspections services. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

1Feb2016

D’Elegance Shapewear Review

Posted in Media Invite, Reviews, Uncategorized by jahbella

I shared about my personal consultation experience with local shapewear company, D’Elegance last week. After a week of putting their shapewear through the ‘rigourous’ task of daily wear under work dresses, casual jeans and tops and formal dresses for weddings. I now have a review of what works as well as my personal recommendations.

So during my personal consultation last week, I was fortunate enough to try most of their products including their wonderful corset which could work in both strap and strapless situation. However because I needed something that would take me through the daily grind rather than a cocktail party, I opted to take home the more versatile pieces like their absolutely divine brassiere and panties as well as their body suit, long girdle and waist slimmer.

As mentioned before, all their pieces could either be worn individually or all together! Yes trust me, it works even better when they are worn all at the same time and truly doesn’t add bulk.

Brassiere and Panties

Before I talk about the actual shapewear per se, I need to introduce D’Elegance’s Brassiere and Panties to everyone! I cannot say this enough but I absolutely love these pieces. Most women are actually wearing the wrong size when it comes to their bras, yes me included! And this causes a lot of problems and ultimately leads to long term issues like arm pit or back fats because the fats from the chest have moved to the wrong places and out of habit intend to stay in the wrong places.

I love that the D’Elegance bras provide fantastic support with a cup that doesn’t neglect the sides of the chest. I have often seen too many bras that provide insufficient support and barely cover enough. Of course, the personal consultation with D’Elegance also helped a great deal in getting me the right bra size and teaching me the right technique to wear a bra. Trust me, it’s not just about bending forward to fill the cup before hooking the clasp.

The panties are silky and super comfortable. Yes I know they look like ‘granny’ panties because of the high waist but they are the furthest things from unattractive granny panties. The lace on the panties are soft and non-scratchy and most importantly, it provides good coverage. Why must you have good coverage for your underwear you ask? Well so that you don’t find yourself with waist band marks that have dug so deep into your skin that they have pretty much become permanent and have shifted your fats into the wrong positions and cause fat folds to form and stay at part of your lower body. Definitely 1 product that I am going to be stocking up on!

Body Suit

I absolutely love the body suit because it can be worn with my favourite D’Elegance bra and panties. It provides me with excellent posture support and I found myself constantly going to this particular piece every day of the week because I loved that it helped me maintain an upright posture throughout the day. I have noticed recently that a slouch has become part and parcel of my posture and the body suit helped to keep me upright without being uncomfortable. The only downside for me is the fact that I can’t wear it with every top as its lace straps are alittle thicker than some of the straps of my tops. The body suit is a really comfortable piece and I actually wore it on a week where I was outdoors a lot and I didn’t feel the heat even with a body suit and long girdle on.

Long Girdle

My go to piece when I needed a flatter tummy and a perkier butt than what the body suit can give me. You will notice that the long girdle comes with a 3D butt area. This means that unlike regular shape wear which flattens your butt and makes it looks like a flat wide piece. The D’Elegance long girdle allows your butt to fill up the 3D space in its material and the result? A butt that is not flatten but rather, is shaped into a regular, toned butt. The panels around the abdomen areas are also ‘thicker’ than the body suit which means it is better used for addressing issues around the abdomen.

The 3D-ness

Waist Slimmer

The waist slimmer is as its name suggest, a binder which you can use to slim your waist. For those who have given birth before and use a Velcro binder to bind your tummies, this is somewhat similar except that it uses mini clasps to secure itself. Almost like a corset but just for the waist. This piece I have to say, is extremely effective!!!! I managed to fit into a dress that I had recently bought and had not been able to wear because it was a size too small! It not only slimmed my waist but also contained my hips so that I could fit into that dress nicely. Pure happiness when I realized I didn’t have to chuck that new purchase to the back of my cupboard!

One thing to note about the D’elegance pieces is the fact that different parts/ panels of each piece are made from slightly different materials or may be slightly thicker/ thinner than other parts. Which is the beauty of their product if you ask me. Unlike other brands which are made from 1 material only or come in 1 thickness throughout, the D’Elegance range ensures that there is flexibility and mouldability to its products, depending on the problem areas that each product is supposed to address.

So there we have it, my personal experiences with the D’Elegance pieces.

If you are looking to check out some of their pieces, do make an appointment for your own exclusive personal consultation. Quote JahBella for a waiver of the S$100 personal consultation fee and receive a discount of 5% off your first purchase.

D’Elegance is also having a 1 for 1 promotion (until 29 Feb 2016) for my favourite brassieres and panites!

Check out some of the info on D’Elegance’s products and packages below as well.

D’Elegance

10 Anson Road

International Plaza #03-15/16

Singapore 079903

Tel: 6226-3013

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/delegance.shapewear

JahBella’s Mummy

Disclaimer: I was invited for a free personalized consultation with D’Elegance and given products for the purpose of this review. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

15Oct2015

Bio Oil – Skincare Product [Review]

Posted in Media Invite, Reviews by jahbella

I pride myself on being pretty low maintenance when it comes to skincare, hair care and the likes. Or at least I like the idea of it all but I am really too lazy to see it through. So yes you will find my bathroom scattered with different skin care or hair care products that I eventually ‘forget’ about, after several uses. :p

However the realities and signs of ageing has definitely crept up on me and my skin no longer rejuvenates or renourishes itself as quickly as I would like to.

So when I was asked if I wanted to give Bio Oil a try, I jumped at the chance. After all, it claims to improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks, uneven skin tone, aging skin and dehydrated skin. All of which I can put a big fat tick beside! Never mind that I’m the ‘too lazy to apply products daily’ kind of person, we will still give it a try because I need help!!! :p

When I first tried Bio Oil, I was alittle skeptical about using it on my face. After all, applying an oil product on my face, just didn’t seem like such a good idea. The thoughts of greasy T zone and clogged pores immediately came to mind. So I started off with applying Bio Oil on my arms and legs.

I started using Bio Oil around the time that we moved house and somehow our new environment (though in the same country) was causing a lot of dryness to my skin. Bio Oil to the rescue! In fact I even used it on Jah who suffers from eczema on the inside of his elbows/arms. The dryness in our new environment was causing his eczema to flare up a lot more and I was just uncomfortable controlling it with his prescribed medicated cream every day. I thought that he would be resistant to the use of ‘oil’ but he was very pleased with this new little ‘nice smell’ oil. Yes that is what he calls it because it smells fantastic!! In fact he would sometime request for me to apply it, just so that he can smell it AND he ALWAYS has to take a whiff of the opened bottle before application. To be fair, it really smells very very nice and this is coming from someone who is pretty sensitive to scents.

Super nice fragrance and lovely colour 🙂 Happy stuff!

As the days/ weeks past in our new place, my face started drying up as well. Seeing how Bio Oil rescued Jah and myself from the horrible dryness on our arms, I decided to go out on a limb (no pun intended) and use it on my face. Bio Oil claims to be non-greasy, hypoallergenic, ideal for all skin types including sensitive skin and won’t clog your pores, and I have to say that its claims were true. There was no oily residue after application even though the oil starts off very ‘oily’ and runny when poured out. The oil was quickly absorbed into the skin and I did not experience any clogging of pores.

So if there is 1 skincare regime product that JahBella’s Mummy will consider using on a daily basis and on the kids, it will be Bio Oil.

Bio-Oil is available in three sizes and is available at all leading pharmacies, selected departmental stores and hospitals. It retails at the following prices: 60ml – SGD $15.50, 125ml – SGD $$25.90, 200ml – SGD $35.90. For more information, visit bio-oil.com.

Next up! To try Bio Oil on my motherhood ‘battle scars’ – my stretch marks! 🙂

JahBella’s Mummy

Disclosure: JahBella received a complimentary bottle of Bio Oil for the purpose of this media review. No monetary compensation was received and all opinions are my own.