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

I like art. It is as simple as that. I have always enjoyed art. Of course there are some artists I like better than others and there are certain things that others call art that I don’t always agree with, but in general I like art. I love to do artistic things and really wish I had more time to pursue artistic endeavors. I majored in Mathematics in college but most of my electives were studio art classes. I was never going to be a great artist but I always learned some new technique and showed technical improvement by the time finals came around. There is something magical about putting paint to canvas, or hands to clay, or whatever the medium, much like pen to paper. The artist gets a chance to create; to instill in their creation a part of themselves. It is very God-like; very powerful. I think that is why I am drawn to artwork so much; I get to create.

I would love for my boys to be artistic. Nico seems to enjoy some crafty, artsy things, or at least he likes to eat his crayons. But so far Matthew has not really shown much interest in art. I’m a little heartbroken over that. I secretly dreamed he would be a great and famous artist. (Nico is going to be a Rockstar – I’m sure of it.) That is why I’m simply in love with Rose’s artwork. Her sister, Betty, is an artist and Rose, who has Autism, has chosen to express herself in a manner similar to Betty. I could see this wonderful, colorful piece of art being proudly displayed in a classroom, child’s playroom, family room, nursery or office.

Betty has graciously offered one of Rose’s pieces to one of my readers. To win Rose’s art, simply go to Art by Betty Refour and take a look at the other beautiful pieces Betty and Rose have to offer. Come back to Matthews Puzzle and leave a comment telling me what other pieces you like. Please be sure to include your email address, blog address or some way for me to contact you if you win.

Extra Entries: You can submit extra entries by doing one, some or all of the following. Just leave a comment for each thing you do.

· Go to Twitter and Tweet the contest

· Blog about the contest

· Add Matthews Puzzle button to your blog OR to you r blog roll

· Follow Matthews Puzzle publicly using the Follow button in the left sidebar

When I was pregnant with our second son, Nico, Matthew was only two years old. We knew something was very wrong with him; he had been in physical therapy for over a year and occupational therapy for about six months. He didn’t play with toys like normal children and he had no desire to interact with us unless he was hungry or in need of something. Worrying that he would have trouble adjusting to a little brother we asked his therapists what we could do to prepare him for Nico’s arrival. They suggested getting him a doll. We bought Matthew a baby doll and over a course of a weekend we had named the doll Gunnar, which had been our nickname for Nico before he was born. Matthew loved Baby Gunnar and carried him everywhere. He began sleeping with Baby Gunnar and actually still sleeps with him to this day. It was heartening to see him become attached to a doll and we knew we were seeing the real Matthew.

Candi of ShortSupply has two children on the Autism spectrum. Her daughter, Brynn, has Aspergers. Brynn was not an artistic child until the age of five when she began drawing and made a self-portrait. Candi got the great idea to take the self-portrait and heat transfer it to muslin which she then stitches into a Hugbaby doll. The Hugbabies are about 6” tall, they are signed with “Hugbaby by Brynn” and have a print backing. Brynn has a great desire to be friends with others and this wonderful Hugbaby can be a reminder that we all need friends and someone we can hug.

One of my readers can win a Hugbaby from ShortSupply. Mandatory Entry: To win the Hugbaby all you need to do is visit ShortSupply and take a look around. Come back to Matthews Puzzle and leave a comment telling me what else you found that you like. Please remember to leave your email address, blog address or some other way for me to contact you if you win.

Extra Entries: To get additional chances to win simply do one, some or all of the following. But remember to leave me a comment for each of the things you do.
• Go to Twitter and Tweet about this contest
• Blog about this contest
• Add Matthews Puzzle’s button to your blog OR add Matthews Puzzle to your blog roll
• Follow Matthews Puzzle publicly using the Follow button in the left sidebar.

Contest Ends May 1st at 11:59 EDT. If the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen. I will email the prize winner and also post winners names here on this post. Winner will be chosen at Random – I will use Random.com to select the winner. Contest is open to US residents only.

I love my boys. Let me just get that out there and make sure it is completely understood. I am so happy I have my two little guys. But I would be telling a lie if I didn’t say that boy’s clothes just aren’t nearly as cute as girls. And you really don’t have a ton of hair options for boys. I mean, you can get the little boy cut, which is what we typically choose, a buzz cut, or you let their hair just grow a bit shaggy. Maybe if you are really funky and cool you would choose to braid or dreadlock their hair. But there really isn’t a lot of variety. Little girls get all the cool accessories like hair bows, ribbons and clips to go along with all the great hairstyle options they have. And Tiffany of TiffNiftyThrifty has offered a really exceptional Autism Awareness Hairbow as a gift to one of my readers.

Tiffany has a son and a brother on the Autism Spectrum and being the avid crafter she is, she has created this beautiful bow to help draw attention to Autism while making a little girl feel beautiful. The boutique bow is hand sewn and the puzzle piece is polymer clay all situated on a French barrette clip. Tiffany started selling her bows to help offset her son’s autism therapy expenses.

Mandatory Entry:

To win this beautiful and whimsical hairbow simply go to TiffNiftyThrifty and take a look at all the fantastic products she offers, then come back to Matthews Puzzle and leave me a comment telling me what else you like. Please make sure you leave your email address, blog address or some way for me to contact you if you win.

Extra Entries:

For additional chances to win simply do one, some or all of the following. Make sure you leave an additional comment for each thing you do, but you must do the Mandatory Entry first.

• Blog about the contest and Matthews Puzzle

• Go to Twitter and Tweet about the contest

• Grab my button and put it on your blog or add Matthews Puzzle to your blog roll

• Follow Matthews Puzzle publicly using the Follow button in the left sidebar.

Contest Ends May 1st at 11:59 PM EDT. If the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen. I will email the prize winner and also post winners names here on this post. Winner will be chosen at Random – I will use Random.com to select the winner. Contest is open to US residents only..

As many of us in the Biomedical branch of the Autism tree are doing, we have started to become a more “green” family. I have tried to reduce our waste, I buy mostly organic body care products, I have started to cloth diaper Nico and I try to conserve electricity. One of the first ways I started to become greener was when I started to use my own bags to go shopping. Not only do I use them for groceries but I also use them for almost any shopping I do. Having a really great bag to carry all my stuff has been very helpful when I need to carry Matthew’s GFCF foods with me on play dates or out to dinner. I can also pack a change of clothes for the boys and store it in a nice bag in the car. Reusable bags have been really handy in the house to store some of the boy’s smaller toys and my scrap sewing material. And my parents are forever sending me home from their house with some little goody, so having a small, cloth bag in my purse can make it a lot easier to lug my “gift” and my kids home. And because I’m such a proud mom I love to draw attention to Autism and hopefully start meaningful dialogs with the public. Because of that I am completely drawn to this great cinch tote.

Adrienne of AdrienneN has been kind enough to offer my readers a chance to win an Autism Awareness Cinch Bag Tote. All of AdrienneN’s cinch packs are made of 100% nylon. They have dyed to match drawcord closures that allow the bags to double as a backpack! They are 14.5”w by 16.5”h and they read “Autism Unlocking the Puzzle”.

Mandatory Entry:
To win one of the cool totes simply go to AdrienneN and take a look at all the fantastic products she offers, then come back to Matthews Puzzle and leave me a comment telling me what else you like. Please make sure you leave your email address, blog address or some way for me to contact you if you win.

Extra Entries:
For additional chances to win simply do one, some or all of the following. Make sure you leave an additional comment for each thing you do, but you must do the Mandatory Entry first.
• Blog about the contest and Matthews Puzzle
• Go to Twitter and Tweet about the contest
• Grab my button and put it on your blog or add Matthews Puzzle to your blog roll
• Follow Matthews Puzzle publicly using the Follow button in the left sidebar.

Contest Ends May 1st at 11:59 PM EDT. If the prize is not claimed within 48 hours a new winner will be chosen. I will email the prize winner and also post winners names here on this post. Winner will be chosen at Random – I will use Random.com to select the winner. Contest is open to US residents only.