^^One of the prettiest Birchboxes to date! I am obsessed with this Love Beauty & Planet shampoo and conditioner they sent me. The smell! That long-lasting lipstick is pretty awesome too.
I stumbled upon this website advertising a new feminine product, which is one of my new finds this week. It’s kind of like a cross between the Diva Cup and the Nuvaring. I have loved using the Diva Cup, but there are a few drawbacks, such as the mess of re-using the cup and having to sanitize it. I like that Flex is tossable after use, but you can still wear it for a long time so you don’t need many per period. Has anyone tried this? I am planning to order a box!
Mazen loves his new bunny from Nona. He named him Frosty because he’s white like a snowman. Ours came from Personal Creations, and you can find similar ones all over Etsy. Just in time for Easter.
Speaking of Etsy, my mom has started selling her art there! You can see some her collection for sale, and she also takes custom orders.
I love her vision of “Two Friendly Sea Monsters and a Giant Flying Fish Escort the Ferry to Bald Head Island”
And “Pig Dreams of Life in a Castle Made of Mud.” These make great gifts for kids or nursery decor. : )
Speaking of worrying, now that the weather is warmer, I’ve been thinking about getting a GPS tracker for Mazen to wear when he plays in the neighborhood. We have 2 other families with kids, and they travel house to house in a pack, sometimes riding bikes within a perimeter defined by the adults. I spent a few hours one day researching these tracking devices, hoping to land on the best one and add it to my new finds, so I could give him a little all-American kid freedom while still knowing where he is at all times. This article has a great overview. Most of them were waaaay to expensive or required too much in a monthly monitoring fee ($30?!?!), but it seems that this one that Verizon carries called the GizmoPal 2 is actually not too bad – only $5 a month for the “phone” line and $75 for the watch plus $30 for activation. You can two-way call, track them via GPS, and get an alert if they cross a boundary. It seems like it’s perfect for kids Mazen’s age. It would be so nice to be able to make a quick call to the house up the block (without bothering the mom) and tell him to scoot home for dinner. I’m 75% sure I’m going to get it for him. Just wanted to see if any of you had tried it and had any thoughts?
And finally, I wanted to share how much we love our Social Print Studio square magnets! I get a set of 10 for $14 at least once a year, and my OCD self loves how they look in grid form 🙂
Thanks for watching reading!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Your Mum’s paintings are cute, so colourful! 🙂 And I didn’t know kids these days have GPS trackers now. How far technology has come! 😀
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Cara's Healthy Cravings says
I have yet to try that product from the Flex Company, but I did hear the owner of the company on a recent podcast I listened to. Sounds like a very effective and hassle-free product, I am intrigued.
Whit says
I just received the same Birchbox and am also obsessed with that shampoo and conditioner! Happy I wasn’t the only one who LOVED the smell!
Brielle says
Flex is fantastic. Also, the GPS thing creeps me out and I don’t know why. Haha.
Jill says
My son has the Gizmo and we love it. He’s older than Mazen but too young for a cell phone (we think), We use it all the ways you suggested, and to make sure he knows who is picking him up after school when the normal routine changes. Hope that helps!
KathEats says
Awesome – thank you!
Sally says
I just ordered the Flex based on one of my girlfriend’s rave reviews. Excited to see if it lives up to the hype!
Pamela Talley says
I love Flex! Started at the beginning of this year and don’t think I’ll ever go back to tampons. They are perfect for my lifestyle- long days skiing, mountain biking, backpacking, etc. where I need something that won’t leak even if I’ve forgotten about it for too many hours. The plan is customizable for you, but even if you run out the Walgreens near me sells Softcups, which are the same product just a less shocking pale pink instead of black. Highly, highly recommend.
KathEats says
That’s awesome to hear!
Gretchen Caldwell says
We love the Gizmo Pal for my son. He is older than Mazen (11 years old), but I think it would have been great when he was younger. It’s been a great way to give my son more freedom, while helping me worry less :). And it has delayed him needing a phone…something I dread!!!
KathEats says
So glad to hear this – thank you!
Mary Pennington says
We love love love the gizmo watch!!! But I highly recommend getting the Gizmo Gadget. The Gizmo Pal only allows 4 numbers where the Gadget lets you have 10. That way we can have the 4 parents (dad, stepmom, mom, mom’s significant other), nanny, neighbor, and a couple grandmas. Check out Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace for a used one. We bought ours used and it worked just fine! Lot’s of people sell them when their kid upgrades to their first phone.
KathEats says
Thank you!!
Lainie says
I got the gizmo for my boys for the same reason- wanted to give them a little freedom but because of the world we live in, us parents have to know where our kids are at all times. It has been great and exactly what we needed! My one tiny complaint is when it’s “looking” for your kid it can take 2-3 minutes, but it’s always super accurate.
KathEats says
OK you guys have me sold!
Linda @ the Fitty says
Just this past year I discovered macadamia nut milk! That’s a new fine for me. Have you come across this phenomenon?! Have you tried it? What did you think of the taste compared to unsweetened almond milk?
Erin says
I work in a school office and quite come a few kids wear these watches, it can be very stressful when they loose them if the battery’s dies you can’t always track it…the kids who are not allowed to take it off don’t have this issue. it’s great for split households and carpool mixups They just have to get used to the feel of wearing a bulky watch and it seems to bug some (hensevthevtaking it off and on)
Linds says
I always wondered how the GPS in my car works without an internet connection/separate payment. Early GPS devices didn’t charge a monthly fee (at least not the Garmin we had). And you technically don’t need to be connected to the internet to use maps on your phone. I know it’s a nominal fee with Verizon but why do the other companies charge so much?! Oh, the questions that plague me XD
KathEats says
I think trackers like a Garmin can map a route but they’d need to use a cell tower to send that route to someone else. So it’s the transmitting of the data you have to pay for. The one that was $30 a month did a lot, but still – you could get a phone line for cheaper!
Linds says
Ah, true!
Mollie says
Random info, but GPS actually connects to satellites so it does not need the internet at all. It “pings” satellites and finds its position based on how far it is from 3 of them.
I’m a software lady who reads Kerf, so could not stop myself from explaining hope I’m not stepping on any toes!
KathEats says
Didn’t know! I wonder why there isn’t a tracker that doesn’t need cell towers then. I looked far and wide for one!
Janet says
I could be wrong, but I think things like Garmin use satellites to map. So no need for internet.
KathEats says
You are right because mine used to take so long to find the satellites
Melissa M. says
My sister-in-law has the Gizmo for her 3 kids (8 and twin 5yo) and LOVES it. She can quickly find them in our neighborhood and loves being able to see where they are on the school bus route in the afternoon. Makes me think it might be time to get one for our son!
Kori says
I saw a coupon on Kroger’s digital downloads for Beauty & Planet shampoo & conditioner recently. I’ve loved them! They smell nice and seem to work well for my hair.
Emily J says
My friend’s two preteen kids have gizmos. They’ve worked out beautifully for them.
KathEats says
Thank you!
Sara says
We have the Gizmo Pal for our 10 year old. For the price, it’s a good bet!
KathEats says
Excellent!
Liz says
I think your impulse to give Mazen some freedom to roam the neighborhood is so great! Have you ever read any of Lenore Skenazy’s work? She used to blog at Free Range Kids and now has a new foundation and associated blog called Let Grow. She writes a lot about the importance of free play and allowing kids more independence, and does advocacy work for stronger legal rights for parents who choose to allow their children more freedom (like walking to school, riding bikes to the park alone, etc.). Some of her views are a little much for me (for example, she is pretty anti the gps trackers for kids, while I see them as potentially facilitating the goal of allowing kids more freedom, especially for younger kids) but I think her work is really valuable. She also writes a lot about crimes against children and presents a lot of statistics and expert opinion to counter the narrative that our children are in constant danger. I find her writing to be a really good reality check against my nervous parent impulses 🙂
KathEats says
I haven’t heard of her! I worry more about him falling off his bike in a bad wreck or out of a tree than other dangers. I think it’s important we role play and practice for different safety situations.
Liz says
Those are definitely reasonable fears! In the area of Southern California where I live, it is extremely uncommon for kids Mazen’s age to have really any playtime that isn’t pretty intensely supervised, which makes me sad, and why the Free Range Kids message resonates so much for me. I got a lot of sideways looks from family members a few weeks ago when I suggested that my nephews, who will be 7 and 9 within the next month, could probably walk to school by themselves (which is less than a half mile from their house and requires no major street crossings). It’s nice to know that somewhere in America kids still roam the neighborhood on bikes! I love that!!
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing the gizmo – I know I will end up getting some kind of tracker for my daughter when she’s old enough to roam (she’s only 2 right now) … Some people think it’s weird/creepy/overkill but personally I love the idea.
KathEats says
I think it’s a great use of technology 🙂
Becky says
I have NEVER had an issue with a diva cup leaking, spilling, or popping out unexpectedly but had a lot of issues when I tried the Instead cup, which is/was (not sure if they’re still around) very similar in appearance to the Flex. While the diva made a secure seal, I found the placement of the Instead to be much more finicky and less reliable, particularly during high-exertion activities like running and rock climbing! I realize that everyone is different, but would definitely recommend testing out the Flex before engaging in anything strenuous without a backup plan!!!!!
Amanda says
The only thing that worries me about gizmo is it providing a false sense of security . A potential bad guy could simply remove the watch and toss it.
Carla says
I don’t think I’d compare contraceptive device (nuvaring) to a menstrual flow device (flex/diva cup). Maybe you were thinking of the instead cups which have been available in drug stores for a while? I have loved my diva cup for going on 15 years and while it’s an investment they totally pay for themselves (oh and I’ve had more than one for the record!).
KathEats says
I just mean in terms of shape. They fit inside with the same shape unlike the Diva cup. I don’t think anyone is going to buy Flex thinking it’s a contraceptive because I compared them 🙂