You Can't Force Me To Stick A Needle In My Child

I am not one to tell other people how to parent their children. I am a firm believer in you do what you feel is best for your family and I'll do what I feel is best for mine. As long as you are not harming your children, I really don't care what you do. I might not agree with your choices, but that is none of my business. They are your choices to make, not mine. I expect the same in return. I know there are plenty of people out there that think I am nuts and don't agree with my choices and that is fine. Just be respectful of the fact that they are MY choices and I will do the same for you.

Photo credit: imelenchon from morguefile.com

Vaccinations can be a pretty hot topic of discussion among parents and it is one I usually try to avoid. That is until I get an email from my school telling me that the state of Connecticut now requires all preschoolers to receive a flu vaccine.

I am a semi-delayed vaccination parent. I held off on giving my twins both the MMR and chicken pox vaccines until they were three years old. Everything else they got on schedule. The chicken pox I was hoping they would actually get and so be immune for life with no boosters required. The MMR I delayed because no one can really say for sure or not if it harms children. Is it linked to autism? I don't know. But with two toddlers that already had significant speech and motor delays, I wasn't taking that chance. When it was time for me to enroll them into school, I got them up to date and all was fine.

But this email today just might have sent me off my rocker. How dare the government tell me I am required to give my child a flu shot? We are talking about the flu here, THE FLU, not the plague. The fact that they are doing this just seems utterly ridiculous to me. I am not usually one to complain about big government being too involved in our day to day lives - that changed today. I am pissed. The bottom line is we will not be giving our kids the flu shot. My gripe is that we shouldn't even have been put into this position in the first place.

Green Giveaway Friday 10/14

Happy Friday everyone!

Please add both your green and non-green giveaways and contests into Mr. Linky below so we can do some giveaway hoppin! Be sure to include the expiration date. Thanks!

You can also submit your green giveaways to me during the week for me to feature on Fridays.

Crunchy Beach Mama
Etsy's Family Cloth Wipes Set 10/17
Organic Breakfast Package 10/17
$25 Etsy's La Dolce Vita Bath & Body 10/18
Nature's Gate Organic Shampoo & Conditioner 10/19
$20 Goat Milk Stuff  10/24
$25 Lost River Naturals ~ Herbal Organics 10/25
Hugo Naturals ~ Bath Salts & Bath Bomb 10/26
Beauty Without Cruelty ~ Natural Liquid MakeUp & Nail Color 10/27

Family Focus Blog
Mighty Leaf Tea Brewing 10/17
Organic HAVA Baby Sling 10/18
Organic T-Shirt 10/19
$50 GC Baby Organics 10/25
Anne Marie Organic Skincare 11/1
Eco Dog Bed 11/3

Just Another New Blog
Natural House Probiotic Cleaners 10/17
Kidfresh Meals 10/24
Simple Green Lemon Scent All-Purpose Cleaner 10/25
A Visit from The Fairy Hobmother

My Sentiment ExactLee
Ecotopia Life Bamboo Towels 10/17

Small Steps On Our Journey
Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour 10/18
Funky Monkey Snacks 10/19
Emelmahae Soap Company 10/21
Clean + Green Product of Choice! US 11/2

Southern Bella's Big Daddy
Brita Water Bottle 10/20

Southern Bella's Way To Save
BornFree Eco Bottles 10/17

Crystal Body Deodorant Roll On Review #CrystalRollOn #CBias

For the past 4 years I have been using an all natural deodorant and I have been pretty happy with it. The chemicals found in traditional deodorants have been linked to breast cancer and I try my best to avoid toxic chemicals at all costs. My only problem, like with many of the natural products I use, is I have to order it online. Well, the natural food store in town might carry it, but that store is so expensive. So I wait for free shipping codes and find it for less online. I recently learned that Walmart now carries natural deodorants and I must admit I was surprised. They do have a small natural beauty section which is a great start, but I never saw deodorant there. With my current deodorant running low I thought it would be a good time to swap it out and try a new natural brand.

Once the 3 older boys were off to school, I grabbed my toddler and we headed out to Walmart. You can view a slideshow of my entire Walmart shopping trip.

I found their selection of natural deodorants on the top shelf of the deodorant aisle. I was there looking for the Crystal Body Deodorant, the purple bottle on the right. It was pretty reasonably priced at $3.48 plus they have a $1 coupon if you sign up with your email address on their website. A very good price for a natural product.


The Swap

The deodorant that I have been using these past 4 years is Naturally Fresh Deodorant Crystal, pictured on the left (pink). I have been using the solid crystal form which requires you to wet it before applying and then you dry it when you are done. Like I said it has worked well, though the extra step of adding water can be a pain sometimes. So I was anxious to swap it out for the Crystal Body Deodorant Roll-On because it would eliminate that step. As a mom of 4, shaving even just a few seconds off my getting ready time is a huge help. Plus, I'm lazy.

Old deodorant - solid crystal stick.

New deodorant - liquid roll-on.

The Result

So the important question now is how does it work? It goes on very easily: just give it a little squeeze and roll it around. With natural deodorants it is very important to cover the entire area well. In my experience if you miss a spot, the results could be rather stinky. In fact, this happened the first day I used this last week. I was in a rush, big surprise, so I was sloppy in my application and I had one not so pleasant smelling arm pit later in the day. Yet the other side was fine which tells me I didn't put it on right. The second day I used Crystal Deodorant it was 85 degrees here in Connecticut. In October. It was rather insane but made for a good day to test out deodorant. We went to a harvest festival in town and chasing four kids around left me pretty sweaty. However, since I applied it correctly this time, there were no bad smells. I have been using this for six days straight now and I am very happy with the results.

The ingredients.

As you can see there are only three ingredients in here. No aluminums, chemicals, fragrances or other yucky stuff that shouldn't be anywhere near your body. Since this is a clear liquid, it goes on clear and dries clear which means no gross residue is left behind on your clothing.

In comparing it to my previous deodorant I can't say that it works any better or worse, I think they are pretty comparable in their results. However, the Crystal Deodorant Roll On is definitely much easier to use which makes it a big winner in my book. And since I am able to buy it locally at Walmart I can say that I will definitely be making this a permanent switch.

Connect with Crystal Deodorant
Facebook: facebook.com/CrystalDeo
Twitter: twitter.com/crystaldeo

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias All opinions are my own.