16May2008
Posted by Diane under: Contest; Product Review; Sleep; Uncategorized.
Is your wee little darling having troubles drifting off to dreamland? I may have just the thing to help. The W.S. Badger Company has sent along a large 2-ounce tin of Night-Night Balm and an adorable stuffed badger for cuddling.
I’ve had a chance to try several of the Badger Balm products, and I can happily recommend them to you. No parabens, no GMO’s, no synthetic anything. You can read the ingredient label and understand all of it. And they use 70 - 100% organic ingredients. But what I think I appreciate most about the balms, in particular the Night-Night Balm, is the lack of a powerful smell. Remember when I posted about using essential oils for baby’s cough? It’s important with little ones not to overpower them with smells, even natural oils. But all of these balms have gentle scents. Nothing to knock baby’s booties off!
Believe it or not, my son is resting peacefully in the next room as I type this - his nap time has been pretty disastrous all week, but I rubbed some Night-Night Balm on him, and here I am typing in silence.
If you’d like to win a 2-ounce tin of Night-Night Balm and a stuffed badger, here’s your chance! (Psst! If you don’t win this one, I’ll be giving away two more Badger Balm products next week.)
3 Ways to Enter:
1.) Leave a comment telling me what interests you the most at Badger Balm. You can name a balm or tell me something about the company, talk about the ingredients - whatever flips your lid. Let’s entertain those badgers, shall we?
2.) Subscribers are automatically entered into this and all future giveaways. Just click here: Subscribe to dkMommy Spot by Email (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you don’t receive it, check your junk mail.)
3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.
Do all three, and you’ve got three entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Tuesday, May 20, 2008, to enter.
14May2008
Posted by Diane under: Article; Health; School.
Wait, wait! Don’t dust your television! Or should you? The news is all abuzz today about the dust found on our television sets. The claim: T.V. dust contains harmful chemical fire retardants that they’ve also found floating around in the average American’s body. Over time, this chemical is known to cause cancer in lab rats. But what I find more disturbing than the television link is that this chemical has also been placed in our mattresses. We don’t sleep on our television sets, or at least most of us do not. I suppose that makes a less interesting news story, as many of us prefer watching American Idol over thinking about mattress safety.
More importantly to me is the link many countries have found between this fire retardant in mattresses and SIDS. I did a post on this quite sometime ago, and if you’ve got crib-sized people in your home, you might want to read about SIDS and fire retardants. There are some great links there and some fabulous solutions.
As for television dust, I have my very own solution. I read books. Because even if a book is old and dusty, nothing’s better for getting rid of mental cobwebs.
13May2008
Posted by Diane under: Contest; Product Review.
It’s been so much fun hunting for and sharing organic and natural alternatives to the products most of us use everyday. If you’ve been hanging out at dkMommy Spot very often, then you already know how much I love tea–herbal teas make up some of my favorite remedies, and I’ve even talked about how you can clean with tea! But when you’re looking for a good hot cup to sit back and relax with, I’ve found an incredible brother-sister run company called Numi Organic Tea. I even have a gorgeous Organic Bamboo Book of Tea from them to give away.
I’m really choosy about my tea, so I was happy to find Numi. Their teas are not only organic but free trade as well. The tea leaves aren’t broken little bits of leftovers but full leaf, and there are no oils or flavorings. Even the tea bags are natural and biodegradable, which I love, because dipping nylon baggies in my hot water makes me cringe! My favorite flavor is the Moonlight Spice, an orange spice white tea, and my husband is all over the Monkey King jasmine green tea. Every flavor is smooth with no hint of bitterness.
I have a beautiful Numi Organic Bamboo Book filled with 30 tea bags to give away! There are six varieties of tea encased in a sturdy reusable bamboo box, and the set is worth $24.95.
3 Ways to Enter:
1.) Leave a comment telling me what you like at Numi Organic Tea. It can be a specific tea they carry or you can tell me what you like about the company’s earth friendly business practices.
2.) Subscribers are automatically entered into this and all future giveaways. Just click here: Subscribe to dkMommy Spot by Email (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you don’t receive it, check your junk mail.)
3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.
Do all three, and you’ve got three entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Sunday, May 18, 2008, to enter.
12May2008
Posted by Diane under: Herbalism; Homemade Products; Remedies.
I’ve been experimenting with making my own homemade ginger ale for awhile, and I think I finally have the recipe how I like it. I’ve been waiting and waiting to share it with you! I love to use the ginger ale as a treatment for sore muscles, but even more for asthma. Although I rarely have an attack anymore, I often have days where breathing seems labored. A glass of homemade ginger ale seems to eliminate that feeling for the rest of the day for me. Of course, this is no replacement for a doctor’s care if you’re really having an attack, but it’s nice to be able to feel like you have some control over the sensation of having difficulty breathing.
Take one large handful peeled and coarsely chopped ginger root, fresh. Put it in a medium sauce pan and fill with water. Bring the water just to boiling, and reduce the heat until the water just steams but does not boil. Allow to heat without boiling until the water is about half of what you started with. While the tea is still hot, strain out the ginger pieces and add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup honey. (Most recipes call for sugar water, but I like to use honey to avoid so much processed sugars.) The mixture should be very sweet and very spicy. Allow too cool, bottle, and place in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to enjoy some ginger ale, fill your glass 1/2 - 3/4 full, then top off with a good mineral water. Add a squirt of lime juice if you prefer.
You may need to tinker with the ratios to get the ginger ale how you prefer. Keep it on hand for your aches, pains, arthritis, asthma, stomach aches and queasies. You can even use it for menstrual cramps, but beware - ginger “improves” the flow of–uh–Aunt Flo. So if you’re not hoping for that result, don’t overdo your homemade ginger ale, even if it’s darned delicious!
Enjoy!!!
9May2008
Posted by Diane under: Baby Toys; Contest; Great Blogs; Product Review; Toys; Uncategorized.
Feel like doing a little shopping for your poopsie? Wild Dill is offering a $35 gift certificate for their online store to one lucky reader! Wild Dill features organic baby and toddler clothing, wooden toys, soft toys and dolls, and even organic bedding. I’m really enjoying hanging out on this site. If you’re looking for some adorable bedding patterns (organic cotton, of course), they’ve got a fun and unique selection. As for toys, they have some items I’ve not seen before, and the stuffed animals are darling! I’m in love with one barefoot mouse. (You gotta see him!) Everything on the site is organic, fair trade, and natural, and most of it is made in the U.S. and Europe. All the items are plainly listed as to where they were made, which is something I always look for before I buy anything these days.
Wild Dill is owned and operated by Jennifer, “Wife and Mother of Wild Men” (just like me!) Her son Dylan inspired the start of this online store; Dylan loves all things wild and natural, so that’s what you’ll find while shopping Wild Dill.
3 Ways to Enter:
1.) Leave a comment telling me what you like at Wild Dill. It can be a specific toy, a brand they carry, or a feature of the site. (And you can love the aforementioned mouse, but please mention something different.)
2.) Subscribers are automatically entered into this and all future giveaways. Just click on the green “Subscribe to dkMommy Spot by Email” button on the upper corner of the right hand column. (Please make sure to verify your Feedburner subscription by responding to the email they send you. If you don’t receive it, check your junk mail.)
3.) Blog about this giveaway on your blog with a link back to this post.
Do all three, and you’ve got three entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, to enter.
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