agk’s beautiful life » snapshots of a work-in-progress life

As many of you are work-at-home moms with young ones to also take care of, I thought this would be a great angle. Hope you enjoy! [Sponsored guest post.]

As parents, we’re able to conquer a lot in a day between taking care of our children and maintaining a career. One large reason why our daily routine is made possible is by sustaining a balance in our lives and keeping each area of our home organized and in order. After we’ve made sure that each piece of baby furniture is safe for our children and that all of the baby locks have been properly secured around the kitchen cabinetry, we must turn to less obvious areas of our house such as the home office. Unless we set up baby gates through every doorway, there’s a slim chance that you’ll get the private office you’ve been looking forward to since you started working at home, which is why this guide will give you some insight on sharing your workspace with your young family.

The key to successful child-proofing is all about the height at which we place things. Since toddlers love to put an assortment of objects in their mouths, it’s essential that you store all small office supplies in a secured area. This includes staplers, staples, rubber bands, pins, paper clips, and anything else that can be easily swallowed or choked on.

Secondly, in any office there will be electronics with a collection of wires and cables that can be very dangerous to any curious toddler. Try positioning wires as close to the walls as you can or underneath a rug in the office to help children avoid tripping over them and bumping their head on another piece of furniture. In addition, laptop or desktop computers, scanners, copiers, paper shredders, and fax machines should all be placed on a high surface such as a desk or side table in order to avoid any tampering of these machines.

As parents, we know that children can be quite persistent and their explorative personality may lead them to the small objects you’re trying to hide in the office. Your office chair serves as the perfect mini jungle gym for little toddlers to crawl on, allowing them to reach new heights and get their hands on important work materials or dangerous objects. One feature that is worth considering is the addition of locked wheel casters on your office chair in order to discourage children from climbing. Storing necessary work and school materials at a higher position in your office will make no difference if your little explorers can climb up to a new level so be sure to lock the chair in place when you’re taking care of business in a different area of your home.

Are YOU a work-at-home mom? Or dad? Do you have ideas or tips for others?

I will not be silent!

But you already knew that, didn’t you?

THIS IS HOW IT ENDS*
at Violence Unsilenced
 
 
*Some of you may recognize this essay. It was written several years ago.

Today, I just wanted to say THANK YOU to my best friend, Hope Wilbanks. I could list a million reasons why, but the most important is because she loves me. We’ve never met face-to-face, and yet, we’re as close as two sisters in Christ could be regardless.

And I want to share with all of you that she also published a book — one I can feel good about encouraging you to add to your shopping list for someone special in your life this holiday season.

Cup of Hope is a compilation of inspirational devotions. A mixture of spiritual insights and personal reflections, this book a great gift for anyone who needs encouragement.

Thank you, Hope!
 
 
 

Some of you may recall…our phone number used to belong to a business. One that apparently went out of business. Without letting customers know. Without fulfilling contracts and paying debts. During at least one full year after moving here, we received daily calls. They started off just seeking the business. After awhile, they began to lean toward being angry. Finally, the lawyer calls began.

“We’re not them,” we’d say. No one seemed to believe us, especially the lawyers. But the calls tapered off, and eventually I lost interest in changing the number - as in, I lost interest in all the work one must do when changing a phone number. But the calls have begun again. It’s as if this is a cold case someone has decided to pick back up.

Still, to be honest, I’m too busy to really spend time on the changing…except, now we’re moving. So, it seems like a rather perfect time to do it!

I’ve become something of a Craigslist.org stalker. Ever since discovering I could find more available houses in my area there than in the weekly newspaper, I’ve checked it at least a dozen times a week. Finally, something paid off. The perfect little cozy house with an apartment. You see, the eldest hates his own apartment (and the landlord seems to want to raise the rent without notice), and you have to know how much I’ve been wanting to move from our current house, so it seems we have come to the perfect solution.

We put down the deposit Sunday and should be moving within 2-3 weeks. The best parts? The view of Pikes Peak from the dining room; enough bedrooms to have an office again; a workroom just for the husband; and a yard!!!

It’s funny, because I had just written about using this space as our own anyway, but I knew the whole time I was still keeping an eye out for something else. Sometimes you just don’t feel settled where you are, you know? Which is something I’ve always wrestled with, because you should try to bloom where you’re planted. But should you? Always? Maybe bloom a little, but it’s hard to put down those roots when you don’t feel the place you’re in is HOME.

We’re looking at 7 more years here, before the kids are all out of school, before we can travel and/or move to our next place. So this long-term move makes mucho amounts of sense. And it’s win-win…I’m so excited!

Except for the part where we actually have to do the moving…

If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies. ~Author Unknown

That’s the title of the book I will be writing for NaNoWriMo. And just what makes you think it might be based on stuff I’ve been through with myself? HA!

I’m just taking a break to come up for air from school work and work itself…to remind you to, uh, you know…take breaks, enjoy days off, live life, and remember that bad days with bad thoughts pass. Make no decisions on bad days. Let them pass in thought only. Allow yourself to think and feel, but sometimes, you simply cannot act on the pains, frustrations, or confusions that fill your life.

And don’t be so hard on yourself.

All I know about my book is that my aim is to make it funny, to find the humor in the ways and whys of my past quittings. To not take myself so seriously. To be nicer to me because I just am who I am, and the sooner I can accept that, the better off I’ll be.

And speaking of not taking one’s self too seriously, here’s a little trip down memory lane in honor of the husband renewing his own creative self.

Remember this?

Aaaahhhh…good times. And yes, that’s a real set of black eyes from the weight of the plaster on my already sensitive and cracked nose.

At any rate, coming soon…John M. Klocke, Special Effects Artist!

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. ~Dr. Seuss

“And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance”
- Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance

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My daughter’s best friend is currently in the hospital after an emergency appendectomy last night. She and her parents could use all your wonderful thoughts and well wishes. Thank you!