Trust the cycles, kids’ techniques, and our renovation!
Great bubbles of ideas!
New cycle ideas
I was playing around with the idea of doing some new courses on topics I’m passionate about: health and home organization.
Fun fact: When I dreamed of digital chaos cycleI really wanted to get the house organized first. But it felt too confusing and inappropriate enough at the time, so she decided to focus on the digital topic only.
Now that I’ve successfully built and marketed one course, I feel more confident doing it again!
I would like to gauge interest in these two topics:
Prioritize your health:
If you were previously focused on health but life got in the way, this course will help you shift your mental space back to health. Update your nutrition basics, learn intuitive and mindful eating techniques, and get ready to prioritize your health once again with like-minded women.
I imagine this course has two levels: less expensive self-directed content that covers a wide range of topics and then an additional community/group training/side taught directly within the Kajabi communities.
I’d love to hear your interest in every level.
Stylish Home:
De-clutter and organize your home from top to bottom. Use techniques to move from room to room, de-clutter, simplify, sort, and organize. After you organize, implement the systems to make your home operate like a well-oiled machine. Honestly, this cycle may come later in 2023 or 2024.
If you are interested in one or both of them, and you will pay for them, Please subscribe here.
Comparison of Gizmo vs Apple Watch vs iPhone vs Gabb
I think I wrote before that Mazen has Gizmo watch. It’s a Verizon product at $79 to buy and $9 per month for a phone line. The reviews aren’t generally glowing, but it was a great starting hour for us. I’ve owned it for 3 years now.
I really like the ability to track him via GPS and call or text him if needed when he’s in the neighborhood or stays to play Gaga after school. He can also call us when he is at his father’s house and vice versa.
Mazen’s Gizmo is on its last leg, and I’m not sure we’ll buy another one when it bites this dust.
Communication and tracking are more to me than to him
At the age of 10, Mazen wanted more freedom to do things without parents: walk to school, walk to the downtown mall with his friends, play around the neighborhood, and go for neighborhood bike rides.
At this point, we feel that having some kind of GPS and a text/communication device has become necessary not so much for him but for us. It’s a great peace of mind for me. So I was debating about potential Christmas gift options.
A lot of his friends started getting phones
Before you close your eyes, I’m going to hand you a new 10 year old iPhone with social media – please know that’s not the plan! His friends who have phones have older generations and a lot of parental control, don’t have social media, etc., that would be our plan too.
Another mom of a friend of Mazen told me that she looked at prepay options, flip phones, etc., but adding her kids to her Verizon plan and getting their old iPhones for them was the best balance of GPS and usability for her.
I feel the watch is the easiest for him to carry around, but the phone (in Otterbox) will enable him to take basic photos and Facetime when he’s not in our house. I’m afraid he’ll break it or forget it at home!
Apple parental controls are great and we are an entire Apple home
We use parental controls on Mazen’s iPad, and I’m able to monitor app activity, set screen time limits, and turn off all apps at a certain time. It is also unable to download new apps or make purchases without approval from my account. So I tended to get an iPhone.
I’ve been looking for the new Apple Watch SE (advertised as good for kids) vs. Older iPhone versus another option like Gabb wireless.
I’d love to hear from parents of tweens and teens if you have any advice!
Update update!
This is not a big question but an update on our home renovation! (Read this post for context.)
We’ve been going back and forth with our architect, outlaw Ruth Eileen outlaw design, for months. We have finally decided to design the first floor.
We thought we had one and then after we wired those schematics into a 3D program we started almost from scratch.
The first version of our plans also had a storage shed in the front of the house (front left corner of the garage) but this has now been rejected in favor of a larger storage and true mud corner.
Most of the things we store in the garage can be spread out in other storage areas of our home, including the small gardening and tool shed in the backyard.
The only puzzle piece I haven’t figured out yet is where to throw all the cardboard boxes that come in the mail!
Here is the latest design for the first floor:
Here is the problem we are trying to solve:
Mess “mud” every day!
3D New Kitchen
Believe me, I wouldn’t use these seats, haha. And of course this is a basic program so that the kitchen does not turn gray with brown counters. Look for spatial design only!
Here’s a screenshot of my Pinterest board. Think modern farmhouse in muted coastal colors. We are planning to start March 1!!
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