giveaway - Matthew's Puzzle - Autism Recovery, Gluten Free, Green Living Mom Blog

Wee Essential Giveaway

July 10, 2009 By Maryann

The Winner is:

Lee Allport said… 43 @ July 19, 2009 12:39 PM

I would probably spend it on cloth pads, I’m a big cloth fan!

Lee 🙂

The other day I received a shipment from Wee Essentials, an Etsy shop, dedicated to living a greener lifestyle. I got a few bags of soap bits, some cloth nursing pad and the soothing sinus relief balm. The soap bits are a very cool idea. They are exactly the right size to make a great soaking solution or one-use guest soaps. I like them for taking them in my purse and using them in restrooms that don’t happen to have soap in their soap dispensers. These soaps are made with shea butter and are naturally a high-glycerin soap which means they are very moisturizing, which is really important to moms that have to wash their hands all the time. I really prefer these to using that antibacterial gel that is very popular right now. The gel is full of chemicals and alcohol, and really helps to promote resistant strains of bacteria. A good hand washing does just as much disinfecting and doesn’t contribute to resistant bacteria.

These great little soap bits come in all sorts of lovely scents. I got to try honeyed almond, lavender chamomile, My Baby love and Cherry Vanilla. Oh so wonderful smelling, but not too strong. I gave some to my mom because she is addicted to those awful antibacterial gels. I was hoping this would encourage her to stop using them and instead use these great little soap bits.

I think one of the best items Wee Essentials offers is the Soothing Sinus Relief Balm. It is a Vicks-like eucalyptus and menthol scented balm that is applied directly to your nose. It helps to open clogged sinus but it also helps sooth raw and irritated noses. It comes in a lip balm size stick and is full of really hydrating and healing oils such as jojoba, almond and macadamia. Good for anyone with a bad cold.

Lastly I wanted to tell you about a green movement that I think many women don’t even think about and that is using Cloth Menstrual Pad. These pads replace you disposable pads and are very convenient. They are shaped like traditional disposable pad, they even have “wings”, but they are reusable. Simply soak the used pads (in the solution you made from your soap bits) and then wash. Once they are dry you can use them again. You need a few to get you through your cycle, but they are very economical and since they don’t end up in a landfill they are a much “greener” alternative to disposable pads.

Would you like to win a $20.00 gift certificate from Wee Essentials? Simply head over to the Wee Essentials shop and take a look around. Then come back to Matthew’s Puzzle and leave me a comment on how you would spend your $20.00. Make sure to leave your email address, or that it is visible on your blog. (This is a mandatory entry)

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This contest is open to US residents 18 years and older. This contest will end July 23, 2009 at 11:59 PM EDT. I will use Random.org random number generator to pick the winner. Only entries that are, or are accompanied by, the mandatory entry will be considered. The winner has 48 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be chosen.

Winners Announced

July 7, 2009 By Maryann

The 3 winners of the Safety Tat Giveaway is

Anonymous said… 10 @ June 18, 2009 7:46 PM: I would use the safety tats for when we go on daytrips and especially on vacation.
Diane C.
LBDsMama said… 8 @ June 18, 2009 11:16 AM: i signed up for the newsletter

Lauren @4BabyAndMom said… 17 @ June 20, 2009 7:38 PM: We head to the public parks, water parks, beach and theme parks through out the WHOLE year (a perk of living in Florida!).. these tat’s would be put to great use!

The Winner of the Alphabet Print Giveaway is

tatertot374 said… 20 @ June 20, 2009 8:14 PM: I would love to win. I like the D is for dougnuts
Thank you for the chance
tatertot374@sbcglobal.net

Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss Giveaway – 2 Winners

July 6, 2009 By Maryann

The 2 Winners Are:

Stef plus 3 said… 5 @ July 6, 2009 3:05 PM

All the flavors sound good but I think we’d pick the mint galactica and enjoy it after a lacrosse game! Lucky for us we have a whole foods not more than 12 min away!

Stef tms

Anonymous said… 1 @ July 6, 2009 2:32 PM: I would try the dark chocolate and serve it after a cookout, which we do almost every night. 🙂

Perfect ending for a busy day!

Diane C.

With summer here the whole family is looking to enjoy many traditional summer moments. We love to cookout and have hamburgers and hotdogs with grilled corn on the cob. We also really enjoy letting the boys play in the pool and eat big slices of watermelon. But there is one thing I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do with them, and it broke my heart. I didn’t know if we could share a delicious ice cream cone with the boys. When Matthew was younger and we found out he was autistic we were devastated that we wouldn’t be able to do “normal” family things like other families did. I used to cry watching my friends take their children to the petting zoo or to the ball park, knowing that we would not be able to do those things. But along came the GFCF diet and major improvements in Matthew’s life, which opened the door to many mundane, yet to us, extraordinary everyday adventures. But of course, once you are GFCF you can’t run out to the ice cream man stopped at the end of the street, and you can’t pop into your favorite local dessert shop for a double cone.

Of course we tried a lot of the frozen desserts in the GFCF isle, but were never really pleased with them. They just weren’t like regular ice cream. But then we found Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss! Since starting the GFCF diet I have had a real love affair with coconut milk. It just tastes good to start with, so it should produce good tasting products right? Right!

Vince of Coconut Bliss sent me a coupon to receive one free pint of Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss frozen desserts. I sent my hubby to the Whole Food’s Market near his office and told him to pick up a pint. He decided on the Vanilla since it was for the boys and some of the other flavors were more exotic or contained nuts, and we aren’t giving Nico nuts yet. Let me just tell you how utterly delicious the Vanilla Island flavor is. It is made with organic coconut milk, organic agave syrup (very low on the glycemic index ), organic fair trade vanilla extract and organic fair trade vanilla beans, nothing else. Just four yummy ingredients expertly put together to make one really delicious frozen dessert. It was so good that I even served it to my parents on the fourth of July. We made chocolate brownies (from a Whole Food’s 365 brownie mix) and topped them with a scoop of the Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss Vanilla Island. It was so good that the boys asked for more. Now that is what I wanted for our summer family get togethers. Maybe we can’t go to ice cream parlors or stop the Good Humor man, but we can give our kids delicious, organic, GFCF frozen desserts that everyone can enjoy, and they can be part of the family and community summer activities. I wouldn’t hesitate to serve Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss to guests and I know they would love it. I had a hard time not eating the whole pint myself. I kept making the excuse that it was for research sake, but I finally realized that the boys would benefit from it more than me and have successfully left the pint untouched so the boys can enjoy.

Want to Buy Coconut Bliss? Simply stop by their site and locate a local distributor or order it on-line.

Want to win a pint for yourself? Head over to Luna and Larry’s Coconut Bliss and take a look around at their site. Make sure you can find a store near you, because I have two more coupon’s for one free pint each. Leave me a comment telling me which flavor you want to try and what family gathering you would serve it at. Remember to include your email address or have it visible on your blog. (This is a mandatory entry.)

Extra Entries: Do one, some or all of the following, but remember to leave a comment for each.

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This contest is open to US residents 18 years and older. This contest will end 11:59 PM EDT, July 21, 2009. I will use Random.org random number generator to choose the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize or another winner will be chosen.

Peter Rabbit Organic Fruit Pouches Giveaway

July 5, 2009 By Maryann

A New winner was chosen because the original winner did not have a visible email address or way to contact her. The New Winner is:

cdziuba said… 2 @ July 6, 2009 9:43 AM: follow

My boys love, love, love fruit. I never really have to worry about them eating it. But you can’t always take fruit with you, especially when you are sending fruit with a toddler or preschooler. I have had to send snacks into school for Matthew because of his GFCF dietary restrictions, and because of his love of fruit I would love to send that with him. But the need to wash and clean the fruit, then store it in a container that he could open and eat from can be tricking, especially if they are taking a field trip. The fruit can start to discolor, or with the case of berries and other soft fruits, they can start to disintegrate and become unpalatable.

Recently I was introduced to Peter Rabbit Organics. They sent me a 6-pack of their organic fruit pouches. At the time I had my niece and nephew in the house so I got to try these out on more than just my children. The Apple and Grape pouch was a big hit with both my boys, especially Matthew. Nico seemed to like the Mango, Banana and Orange, while my niece seemed to enjoy the Strawberry and Banana.

One amazing thing about these fruit pouches is the fact that they are simply pureed fruit, there is nothing else in the pouch, which I think is great. The kids can have a wholesome snack at home or on the go and I know we are giving them organic fruit without any preservatives or artificial colors and flavors, like so many other kid-marketed snacks. Another cool aspect of Peter Rabbit Fruit Pouches is the fact that they are re-sealable and they have choke-free caps, and the unopened pouches don’t need to be refrigerated.

I really prefer these fruit pouches to so many of the other snack products on the market. Really, what is better than an all-fruit snack? There are no gelatins, genetically modified food starches, preservatives or added chemicals.

Want to buy some Peter Rabbit Organic Fruit Pouches? Simply check out their on-line list of US stores, or drop by Amazon.com and grab a few to go.

Want to Win some Peter Rabbit Organic Fruit Pouches? I have a box of 10 to giveaway. So, why don’t you hop over to Peter Rabbit Organics and tell me something you learned about the company, or leave me a message saying how/where you would use the fruit pouches. Make sure you leave your email address or that it is easily viewable on your blog. (This is a mandatory entry )

Want to earn extra chances to win Peter Rabbit Organic Fruit Pouches? Do one, some or all of the following. Make sure you leave a comment for each thing you do.

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This contest is open to US residents 18 years and older. Contest ends 11:59 PM EDT, July 21, 2009. I will use Random.org to randomly choose the winner. The winner has 48 hours to claim the prize or a new winner will be chosen.