The Natural Habitat of a Work-At-Home Mom

When I post anything about what daily life is like for our family, people are really interested, so today as I read the item "Weekly Blog Post" on my to-do list, my gaze strayed over the chaos of my desk, and I thought "Do all moms who work from home exist in this kind of chaos?"  

Actually, what I thought was "Do all moms who...WESLEY, no more lollipops!...work from home...Inno, this doesn't look like a good TV show, go play outside...exist in this kind of...No, Adera, I don't have cash to buy a fish right now, so just cook rice and beans..chaos?"

Fortunately I have always been an incorrigible multi-tasker, so I can actually be pretty productive in spite of my environment, but here is a little tour of my work space, aka The Natural Habitat of a Work-At-Home Mom.

1.  Photo of me with two girls I sponsored through Lahash when I was pregnant with Wesley
2.  Photo of me with Lahash staff and partners in March 2012 when Wesley was a tiny infant
3.  Photo of one of my nieces  (Note: if you mail me photo prints, they go up on the walls in our house!)
4.  Postcard from the Redwood Forest, one of the most awe-inspiring places I've ever been
5.  Poem by Persian poet Hafiz
6.  Promotional card for Mama Maisha
7.  Tiny slip of paper with the payment information for our satellite TV service that was always getting lost until I taped it to the wall
8.  Photo of my extended family taken last January
9.  Reminders from Gretchen Rubin's book Happier at Home, things like "Work Smart" and "Enthusiasm is more important than ability"
10. Quotes from Tina Fey and Jane Austen cut out of an "O" magazine
11. Laptop on which the Office programs are actually working
12. Laptop, on which Office programs are not working, but where all my documents are saved
13. Kindle Fire, on which I listen to stuff or read while I wait for things to download or for the power to come back on
    What I'm listening to: "The Civil Wars" album by Civil Wars
                                        "Title" album by Meghan Trainor
                                        Relevant podcast
                                        Slate Political podcast
                                        Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast
    What I'm reading: Keeping Your Child in Mind by Claudia M. Gold, M.D.
                                  God and the Gay Christian by Matthew Vines
                                  The Skeletons in God's Closet by Joshua Ryan Butler
                                 
14. My blank book, in which I have meeting notes and lists of things to do
15. Box of lollipops
16. My to-do list with four categories:
             1st priority Support Raising (e.g. Thank you gifts for donors)
             2nd priority Lahash work (e.g. Check on implementation of Discipleship Plan)
             3rd priority Mama Maisha work (e.g. Translate disclaimer into Luo)
             4th priority Personal Items (e.g. Put laundry away)
17. Phone...I instituted a policy that I can only check Facebook on my phone so that I don't get distracted from important work
18. Gretchen's current favorite book, which she carries over to me multiple times a day to read a goodnight prayer out of
19. Boys' dietary supplement, another thing which apparently lives on my desk so that it doesn't get lost

Of course there is the additional detritus, like the wireless modem, printer, Fred's meeting notes for me to type up, a Discman (see no. 19), etc.  All these things are apparently essential to have close at hand in order to get work done for whatever reason.  Hmm...maybe I need to add "Organize work space" to my lowest priority list...I could probably get to that in, oh, July?

P.S. Happy fourth anniversary to my beloved husband!  I'll try to change the sheets, get the kids' toys put away, and get Wesley to put pants on by the time you get home from work, because I know these things will bless you.  (Welcome to romance for parents of little ones!)

Things I have been interrupted during the writing of this blog post to do:

- Move to the bedroom to concentrate.

- Return to the desk to adjust the internet so that it reaches the bedroom.

- Help Gretchen up onto the bed.

- Buy airtime to reply to a text message from Fred.

- Help Gretchen off the bed.

- Remind Wesley that my bed is not where an empty juice box goes.

- Help Gretchen up onto the bed.

- Admire Gretchen's shoe "SHOO! SHOO!".

- Take Gretchen to Adera.

- Negotiate a lollipop dispute between the boys

- Admire a photo of a lollipop taken on my phone by Wesley

- Assure Wesley that the bathroom spray smells nice

- Investigate why Wesley is naked from the waist down

- Receive gifts from a friend who is moving back to Holland tomorrow

- Chat with the Mama Maisha prenatal clinic nurse