Products to Get You Through the Cold and Illness Season While Educating Your Children- by Cara Potapshyn Meyers

Maty’s 

Get Better. Be Better.

All Natural Products

Timing is everything. These products are no exception. My entire family came down with sinus infections over the past week. I received several products from the Maty’s line to try and blog a review. Maty’s Healthy Products is a line of all natural, homeopathic and gluten-free cough and cold remedies that are safe and effective to use on infants (three months) and adults. All I can say is, thank goodness! We were all suffering and Maty’s All Natural cough and cold products were a welcome relief.

The Products Include:

• All Natural Cough Syrup with antioxidant-rich Buckwheat Honey
• All Natural Baby Chest Rub – with immune-boosting soothing essential oils
• All Natural Kids Cough Syrup with banana-caramel taste
• Breath Better Nasal Ointment
• All Natural Vapor Rub

I first tried the All Natural Cough Syrup, made with antioxidant rich Buckwheat Honey along with nine immune support ingredients. We were sent an unflavored sample for adults and a caramel banana flavored sample for children. My son is not a big fan of anything sweet, so he tried the adult sample, in the children’s dose, while I tried the flavored syrup. Since he was not up to trying the flavored syrup, I sampled the unflavored one. Oddly, I liked the flavored syrup over the unflavored, while my son preferred the unflavored. Although the cough syrups are marketed for children and adults independently, because the products are all natural, adults can take the children’s products and children over one year of age can take the adult products. The only difference is the dosage.

My husband tried Maty’s Breathe Better Nasal Ointment. I asked him to sample this one because I know that he has used similar nasal ointment products by other companies in the past. I wanted a discerning consumer’s opinion. Because the ointment has lemon balm in it, my husband said that he liked inhaling the soothing smell. He said it also dispersed in the nasal cavity more smoothly than other products he has tried in the past. My husband said he would continue to use this nasal ointment over others he has tried. He is a big fan of all natural products. This one won him over!

Finally, we were given samples of Maty”s All Natural Chest Rub. I’m a big fan of vapor chest rubs because they bring back wonderful memories of my Mother rubbing my chest and lower neck with the camphor scented ointment. What I loved about Maty’s Vapor Rub is that it has eucalyptus, wintergreen and peppermint! A much more delicate scent combination than the camphor I remember. I didn’t feel overwhelmed by the scent. There was even a Maty’s Mom Tip: “For a unique and effective method of application, rub on bottom of feet.” How pampering with a pair of warm socks on!

My son does not like ointments on him, so I tried the Baby Chest Rub. I compared it with a container of another brand name baby chest rub I had been using up since my son wouldn’t use it. Again, the scent was so much less overpowering. It was a beautiful combination of eucalyptus, lavender and chamomile. A wonderful combination for a congested baby.

Maty’s All Natural products are now a welcome addition to our house. If you prefer using all natural remedies when your family members are sick, give Maty's products a try. Since I began writing this review, my cough has quieted already! Check out these products at: www.matyshealthyproducts.com. The full line is launching early winter and products will be available at local grocery stores and pharmacies (Stop & Shop, Rite Aid, Duane Reade, etc.)

Imagine It! 

DVD

Since my son was home from school and we were still sick, we decided to watch an extremely intriguing documentary, Imagine It! My son is a very science focused person, so I thought that this DVD would be of interest to him. I was absolutely correct!

IMAGINE IT poses the question: What if you imagined a better world, then engaged in making it happen? The film encourages children to pursue an education in the field of math and science to create the changes they would like to see in a world that they would want to live in. Educators profess with confidence that the best way to predict the future is to invent it and considering that half of the world’s population is under the age of 25 (that’s 3 billion people) there is considerable potential for a new future of creators. As one of the greatest creative minds, Walt Disney, said “All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”

Imagine It! is designed to provide a forum for discussion around the power of big ideas in action and to inspire people to imagine a better world by connecting imagination and creativity with science and engineering in education. 

With this DVD, you get to hear from innovators, scientists and authors, such as Ray Kurtzweil and Sally Ride, who are joining a movement to get creative thinking and the arts back into schools. Imagine It! will help the public to have a better understanding of the importance of science, engineering and technology and hopes to inspire the next generation of innovators.

The 52-minute film reports on the promise of a new youth culture engaging their curiosity to change the world, empowered by science, technology, education and desire. It is about connecting imagination and creativity with science and engineering in education. 

 IMAGINE IT! features the following experts and thought-leaders:

• Ray Kurzweil – Futurist and Author, The Singularity is Near
• Sally Ride – Physicist, NASA astronaut, first American woman in space

• Chris Wink, Phil Stanton, Matt Goldman – Co-Founders, The Blue Man Group

• Charles Vest – Former President of MIT, current President of the National Academy of Engineering
• Sir Ken Robinson – Author, All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education

DVD EXTRA:

• The Post-It® Challenge – An experiment for students all over the world to add value to a pack of Post-It® Notes...in just 6 days! My son was scavaging the house for post-its so that he could participate in the challenge! A true creator, my son.

Iliza Shlesinger, winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, stars as the host of this documentary. Director Rudy Poe co-founded the Imagine It! Project with Richard Tavener. The non-profit company’s mission is to promote the power of imagination and the importance of living a creative life. His mantra is Experience for today. Vision for tomorrow.

Imagine It! is available for $19.95 as a DVD or Digital Download. 

http://www.imagineitproject.com/

Note: Thanks to the above companies for providing sample products.  Cara Potapshyn Meyers and MotherhoodLater.com assume no liability relative to products reviewed in this blog.

Addendum to last week’s blog, Wicked October: Our Sweet Lama LuLu dog passed into Doggie Heaven on Friday, November 4, 2011. She will be missed dearly.