Spring Clean That Beauty Bag and Add Organic Lip Gloss From The Organic Face

*I received the product listed below for reviewing purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. see disclosure.

Have you ever thought about what chemicals are in the products you use on your face daily? Well I have actually started reading through the ingredients lists, and some of those listed has made my jaw drop open. Now that spring is in full swing I have been doing a bit of spring cleaning in my make up bag. I have been looking for lip gloss, eye shadow, and other products that are all natural organic to replace the ones that have been tossed.

The Organic Face is the exact type of all natural beauty items I was looking for. They have products that while reading the label I do not cringe, and they are chemical free! Their eye shadow, lip gloss, foundation, mascara and other beauty items do not contain any fillers, preservatives, dyes, irritants, gluten, etc. The Organic Face also manufactures 100% of their products right here in the US. NICE!

The #MomFashion Show Giveaway ~ Featuring The Organic Face

Welcome to 

The Mommy Fashion Show Giveaway Hop

Featuring The Organic Face

With Mother's Day just around the corner, Coupons and Lesson Plans has joined with The Mommy Island, The Kids Did It, and some other amazing bloggers to bring a bunch of fun beauty, fashion and other great giveaways for Mom! We want to celebrate by giving away some fun products that we think will help Mom feel and look her very best!

Right here you can enter for your chance to win an Addiction Lip Gloss, an organic cocoa butter based gloss from The Organic Face. The Organic Face offers a wonderful selection of all natural products that are chemical free and organic. Their products are all 100% made in the USA, and never tested on animals with a cruelty-free policy! 

Are You Looking For a Soft Winter Hat For Baby? ~ GoumiHat Review and Giveaway

*I received the product below for reviewing purposes, but was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. see disclosure

The weather here in Indiana can be frigid one day, and warm enough for just a light hoodie the next. It's one of the many joys of living in the mid-west. One thing I needed to find this year for our new baby boy was a good hat that he would stay on to keep him warm and comfy while out and about during those chilly days. Especially with all the information out there right now about not hooking your baby into a carseat with bulky coats or snow suits, I thought a good hat would be the perfect solution with a blanket over the top to keep him toasty warm.

GoumiKids, a woman owned organic company, had exactly what I had been searching for with their GoumiHats. These adorable and reversible hats for baby have stylish modern prints. One side features the cute print while the other has a solid color. The hat is made to perfectly fit and stay on your little one's head and ties under the chin for a snug but comfy fit.

Winter Wonderland Hop Event Featuring The Ultimate Green Store

*I received the product mentioned below in order to facilitate a review. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own. see disclosure.

I would like to welcome everyone to the Winter Wonderland Hop Event featuring The Ultimate Green Store here on Coupons and Lesson Plans. This event is hosted by LeahSay's Views & Planet Weidknecht. As the weather gets chilly, and the holidays are quickly approaching we can no longer deny that winter is upon us. Now is a wonderful time to get comfy, and enter a few giveaways in the warmth of your home. That is why we bloggers have come together with a bunch of fun giveaways for you to enter with prizes all valued at $25 and more.

The Ultimate Green Store has generously sponsored, as part of my 2014 Holiday Gift Guide, a $30 Gift Certificate to one very lucky reader! 

Green Your Family Giveaway #GYF0914

Welcome To The

GREEN YOUR FAMILY Giveaway!

We do our best around our home to "Go Green". I recycle like it's my job, and try to find ways to reuse all sorts of different thing too. Now we have recently began cloth diapering and that helps our family reduce waste. Now I am SO HAPPY to be able to share with all of my readers to HUGE giveaway sponsored by some wonderful companies (listed below), who have products to help us eat and live better!

Enter below for your chance to WIN one of 3 prize packs filled with over $550 in products to help Green Your Family!!! 

Credible Cravings ~ Review

*I received free product in order to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions {good or bad} are my own honest opinions. see disclosure. 

Now that I am breastfeeding our third child, making better decisions about what food I put into my body is not just a choice, it's a necessity, to have a healthy baby. Thankfully there is a healthy option for all of us breastfeeding and pregnant Moms.... Credible Cravings!

Credible Cravings has three certified organic, whole food snack bars for us Moms, that according to their site "provide optimal nutrition during the time when it matters most – before, during and after pregnancy."  Their snack bars are jammed packed with healthy ingredients that, have to be honest here, I would never choose on my own, but cram them in one of these tasty bars and I sure will.

Organic and Toxin Free Earth Mama Angel Baby Products ~ Luck Be A Baby Celebration

Can't think of a better way to start our new little guy off right, than with toxin free, organic skin care products. While looking over all the products that are out there in the organic baby care lines, I came across Earth Mama Angel Baby. They are all natural and plant based which means they are also Vegan.

Since I am bringing home our baby in just a few short weeks, we needed a full line of products on the ready for when he arrives. For the Luck Be A Baby Celebration, Earth Mama Angel Baby sent me their Baby Essentials Bundle in order to facilitate this product feature. This set contains the necessities you need for baby in a 100% certified organic reusable tote. Below you will find a few details about each of the 5 baby essentials in this set. 

Goodies That You Can Feel Good About! ~ Newman's Own Organics Review and Giveaway

Newman's Own Organics recently sent me a variety of their treats and snacks to review. As you can imagine, this was one review my family was very happy to participate in, and I was happy for their help. Even though I am expecting, the full blown cravings haven't began yet, and I needed some help trying all the treats and goodies that came in my box.

First of all let me tell you a little about Newman's Own Organics: The Second Generation. This company began when Nell and her business partner Peter Mahaan thought there was a definite need for organic food products, and after collaborating with her father in 1992 began Newman's Own Organics. Their first product was pretzels, followed by their chocolate bars, and it has now expanded to include coffee, tea, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, organic dried fruit, pet food and more. I just love Newman's Own Organics' slogan, “Great tasting products that happen to be organic!” They are great tasting.... actually delicious!

Pamper Yourself with Tree Hut's New Creams and Sugar Scrubs ~ Review

*I received these products through Sublime Media Connection in exchange for an honest review. In no way was I asked to give a positive review. As always, all opinions {good or bad} are my own. sponsored post. see disclosure.


My daughter and I love to have girl time, and do pedicures. This is where Tree Hut comes in! They have some new products that are perfect for Mother/ Daughter time, or really anytime you want to spoil yourself with high quality organic creams, and sugar scrubs. I was sent the New Tree Hut Renewing Hand Cream in Moroccan Rose scent, New Exfoliating Foot Scrub in Peppermint & Sugar, and the New Soothing Foot Cream with Aloe & Peppermint.

Conscious Box Event ~ Ends March 10th

Welcome to the 

Conscious Box Event

*sponsored by Conscious Box

~Conscious Box has graciously sponsored a 3-month subscription Giveaway Event – that's a $59 value, for the readers of Coupons and Lesson Plans!

With everyone going green since St.Patrick's Day is coming up this month, why not go green with a Conscious Box subscription? Each monthly box is filled with EcoFriendly & the best Natural products! Everything from Vegan Beauty Products, Health Food, to Non-Toxic Cleaners this monthly box comes filled with all sorts of goodies & coupons!! 

To find out more about what types of products you could expect to see in each monthly box {items vary month to month}, check out my Conscious Box Review from last year. =)

Wexy Bag Review

Even though I try to avoid purchasing plastic baggies, there are times when they come in handy. That is why I am so excited to share with you my review of Wexy Bags!

 

Wexy Bags were created by 2 Moms, Carie and Tracey,who both have the desire to feed their children a healthy diet. They found, as I'm sure all of you have, that healthy and whole foods do not come wrapped in kid friendly packages. So with their children as inspiration they have brought us Wexy Bags. 

Wexy Bags are made in the USA, BPA Free, and very importantly Biodegradable. These eco-friendly bags can be reused and recycled. Even the Wexy Bag packaging was made from recycled materials and can be recycled. It's a safe Earth friendly way to use plastic baggies.

These Wexy Bags would work wonderfully to pack school lunches, but since we homeschool I found other ways they still fit in our lifestyle. We have used them for road trips, snacks at the park, and to hold small toys when we are on the go. My kiddos have asked to use them to hold their popcorn on movie night... that way they each have their own bag just like at the movie theater.

Plum Kids Facebook Freebie

Hurry over to Plum Kids 

and get a FREE product coupon found under their Snacking Spree Free Giveaway... HERE.

 
Just "Like" and fill out your address information.... the coupon will be mailed. 

Hurry!! This one is sure to go fast! =)

July Conscious Box Review

As I mentioned in the Sneak Peak a few days ago,  I have found a monthly delivery box that contains hand selected products from businesses that have been found to meet the highest standards of sustainability and in ethics! Each box is filled with Eco-Friendly Goodies!!! All products are 100% Vegetarian and they include vegan beauty and a bunch of organic products!!!

As I opened my July Conscious Box, I was greeted with a wonderful aroma! This just heightened my excitement to see what was inside!  Since the box is fairly small I wondered how many products they could actually fit inside it. Boy was I surprised!  They weren't kidding= it was packed full of goodies!!!!

Here's what I found.....

Fit Moms For Life Review

My husband and I both started a "get healthy kick" over a year ago. We have been pretty good about eating better, trying to exercise a couple times a week, and choosing healthier options in our diet. Still after meeting my goal weight, what I weighed at 21 before my kiddos came along, I still do not have the same toned shape from my younger years. Not to mention, my metabolism isn't what it was back then at all!

I was given the opportunity to review this really awesome book by Dustin Maher , Fit Moms For Life, which would be a great book for any woman or man in my opinion! His program is all about being the best you can be by following the five pillars of health- mindset, nutrition, strength training, burst training, and environment. Dustin is a personal trainer with a Bachelor's degree in Kinesiology {Exercise Science}. He is also the man behind, Fit Fun Boot Camp's. Thinking I have finally found what my workouts and my diet plan have been missing this whole time..... Dustin Maher!!!

Sneak Peak at the Conscious Box

Sample of eco-friendly goodies- boxes will be different.

Have you heard about monthly delivery boxes? I have found {Thanks to The Pitch List} a monthly delivery box that contains hand selected products from businesses that have been found to meet the highest standards of sustainability and in ethics! Each box is filled with Eco-Friendly Goodies!!! All products are 100% Vegetarian and they include vegan beauty and a bunch of organic products!!! {More in my review of the July Box....sneak peak.... they had everything from snacks to Vegan eyeshadow! Really cool! }

Their August box will be filled with a Back to School theme! Go ahead and check them out here, and get your order in now. =)

Help They Are Taking Over

Well, I'm currently in a battle with a bazillion little insects!!! They have taken over my few corn plants!!! The little buggers are ants.... just annoying!!!  If you even walk out to that plot.. there is so many ants that they are crawling up your leg within a few seconds.

Dear Mr.Ant...Sorry, but I dislike you with a passion!! -Amanda

 I had read that an organic way to be rid of those six legged pests was to mix Chili powder and water. Then just spread a barrier around your plants. Diligently been spreading the paste around for days, and it works until I water the garden. The ants are not even a bit scared of that stuff after it's water down. 

I'm at a loss, and really would love to save my sweet corn from this plague of ANTS! If anyone has some experience with an Ant problem and knows an organic way to remedy it..... Please Please Please share in a comment!!! 

~On a side note.... they aren't touching my tomatoes! 

{Trying to find a positive in all of this!}  =)

*Photo credit- FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Just Pinch Those Suckers

Well, I was going to try and study up this week for an awesome beginner "how to" post on taking care of tomatoes. Unfortunately my life....been crazy this week.... wasn't going to let that happen. Here's two little bits of information that I have picked up so far.=)

FYI- We found these on sale for $1 at Rural King.

1- Tomatoes need a cage.   

I'm sure this sounds simple to those veteran gardeners, but people like me just starting out with their first garden have no idea. 

When tomatoes start growing they will get a lot larger than you expect. These simply help support the plant which will need it when all those big juicy tomatoes come on.

This sucker just got pinched!

2- You need to prune or really just pinch the suckers off your tomato plants.  

This is a very easy process, and it keeps the plants from becoming too large. 

My Garden of Weedin'

Weeds are normal in any garden, I know this. Just really don't want them in ours making a home and hanging out!!! =)

Weeds, your days are numbered! {insert evil laugh here}

Trying not be OCD about keeping the weeds out is how I have decided to play this one! Not sure if all gardeners have my attitude about weeds, but I figure once every two or three weeks is all the time I'm willing to put in pulling weeds. {Especially in this heat wave we are going through in the Midwest... 105 degrees in Southern Indiana today}

Just figure if there's a weed.. there's a weed. What's the worst that could happen..... the pics for my blog post will not be as pretty. I can live with that! 

Don't get me wrong I do pull all the weeds on a set day, and make sure the rows all look nice again. See I want this Organic Gardening Adventure to be a fun one... not a stressful, "Did you get all the weeds pulled?" one.

Our first baby green tomatoes! Aren't they cute?! LOL =D

 All of the little issues I'm learning to deal with are so small compared to the huge pay out of fresh veggies in just a couple weeks! So excited.... I have a few little green tomatoes, baby banana and green peppers already. Not to mention the romaine that has been providing us with fresh salads. {Go Here to read  my post on romaine lettuce}

I am having such a fun time learning about how to organic garden, and also just general facts about taking care of all these veggie plants. For instance, I really had no idea that different plants used different minerals from the soil, or that tomato plants need to be pruned.  ..... think I am getting ahead of myself......more on all of that next week! =)

Learning As We Grow

This week we had our first salad fresh from the garden, and it was ok.

Knowing that we grew it ourselves made it even better. 

It was a bit bitter, and after reading up think the leaves should be picked when they are smaller. 

Apparently, the larger the Romaine leaves are, the more "nutty" {bitter if you ask me} they will taste. Oh Well... that is what this is all about= learning as we GROW right?! ;)

Hate to keep this one short and sweet {or bitter.... lol}, but the weeds are starting to take over the corn and pepper plants!

 Seriously...some kind of vine keeps popping up and within a day is half way up the corn or pepper plants! Those babies are driving me nuts!!! Off to weed the garden I go....before it gets too stinking hot! LOL

More on the weed issue next week. Have a great weekend!  =)

Organic Gardening- Rascally Rabbits Invade

Photo- courtesy of freerangestock.com

I am sure you all have seen the shows... cartoons and others, where the rabbits come in, and just wipe out the veggies in the mean ol' Farmers garden. He tries everything to fix the problem, but they just keeping robbing him blind. We all laugh and stuff, but now I see why that farmer was so irritated!!! 

Our lil urban garden, had a few visitors from this furry group, and they ate 3 of our 8 romaine lettuce plants down to the dirt in one big feast!!! Grrrrrr

Well, since I am trying to be "earth friendly", and have an organic garden without any type of chemicals or harming any native creatures.... including those lil furry robber rabbits, we had to get creative on how to stop them. Not to mention, I am trying to garden on a very tight budget!!!! So buying those cute little white wire fences, or buying pretty much anything was out of the question.