Making a Lens With 5 Children In The House

The quads went to bed last night at 8 pm; big brother Jacob went to bed at 9 pm. Figured I'd better head to bed about that same time in order to get up and get an early start on the lens.

4:30 - I'm ready to roll! Hardly slept last night thinking about my "content", so I'd have a head start today. Wrote a brief outline of my lens, wanted to get a good title so people would know what I'm trying to do.

Got my paragraphs (modules) pretty much in order and the introduction done. Did a little research on my content to be sure it would apply to my topic here.

Started working on the content.

Oh my! How I'd hoped they'd sleep at least until 7 so I could get a bunch done, but I hear one of the little girls hollering "Mamaw, I wake up"!

Just made a little pallet for her on my office floor so she could "rest a little bit" while I get a little more done.

The "rest a little bit" was indeed a "little bit" - and now 5 minutes later I hear somebody else hollering. Gotta go get them out of their beds and in the living room. We try to keep them a little bit quiet so the others can sleep a little longer.

Figured I could at least make notes on writing my content information while they are playing, between monitoring little arguments, taking somebody to the potty, finding the "right" juice, etc. These little guys and girls play pretty well together, but oh boy! they can also do a little fighting.

WHOOHOO!! Papaw has come to my rescue for a few minutes - he's gonna trim some bushes in front of the house, so he's gathered hats for each of the kids so they can "help" him. They LOVE to help, and he is very patient with them. He's cutting the little "branches" from the bushes and they're having the time of their life running them to the little pile he set up beside the street for the trash people to pick up.

I've gotten a good share of my content written and outlined the remainder.

Well, bushes are trimmed and he's finished - the little ones look so cute in their hats, I have to take a picture to share with you.

Lunch time, so gotta call it quits on the writing while I fix lunch. Won't get another chance to work on the lens until nap time.

These little ones are on a very strict schedule - and 1:30 is naptime for all of them. Of course they may or may not "go to sleep" right away, so I usually have to make a few trips to the doorways and say "be quiet and go to sleep". Today I'm lucky, they "worked" so hard this morning helping with the bushes that they're ready for a nap. Within 15-20 minutes it's all quiet in the house. TIME TO GO TO WORK -- and work fast, I might add!

The very sound of "working at home" is music to the ears of so many people nowdays -- with gas prices soaring, costs of daycare, food, clothing and every necessity going higher and higher it's no wonder the idea of working at home is something we would all love to do. In addition, with cut backs and layoffs at many work locations, finding something to do as a work at home job may be the only alternative.

OK, so you've been sewing for years and years and you can now finally start a sewing business of some kind at home. Perhaps you've been into crafting and creating unique items is your specialty. Perhaps your children are a little on the plump side, so you can say that you've been sewing for plus size children all the years you've sewn for your own children, or you've been taking home clothing alteration work from fellow employees where you used to work, so you already have a little "business on the side" going.

Perhaps you love to write, and the thought of making an income writing on Squidoo or in forums, etc sounds very inviting to you.

Another highlight in working from home is the prospect of being able to spend more time with your children.

HOLD ON! Are you planning to "work" at home, or "spend more time with the children", which means not much work will be done.

The very FIRST thing that needs to be done is to set a schedule and stick to it! The children and spouse have to realize that you'll be needing time to get your work done - whether you're sewing, doing alterations, making crafts, writing articles, whatever it is, will take time to get completed.

My daughter has 2 1/2 year old quadruplets, and an older son who is 3 1/2 (gonna be 4 next month). She has a very strict schedule for them -- babies (quadruplets) take a nap at 9:30 in the morning -- sometimes they sleep, sometimes they play for an hour, but they are in their rooms. Then at 1:30 all five of the children are down for a nap. They sleep until 4:30 or 5:00, which is her "quiet baby time" as well as WORK time. After naps comes supper, playtime outside, bath, snacks and the babies are in bed at 8 pm; the older brother in bed at 9. There is never a squabble or fight - it has been this way since the babies turned 6 months old. She then can work from 9 pm until around midnight. I'm constantly amazed at the amount of work she gets done during those seemingly small periods of time.

If you have older children, plan to do your work while they are in school, then work out summer camps, etc for during the summer months when they aren't in school. If they are old enough to be able to help you, give them some little "jobs" to do, otherwise perhaps you can have a small desk on one side of the room where they can be coloring, reading, etc while you're working.

The second item of importance is to have a designated work area. The location is up to you - it might be setting up an office or work area in the garage, or in a spare bedroom. Wherever the work area is, the children must be taught that it is indeed a work area, and they are not to go in and rummage around unless they have permission from you. In addition, they must not disturb you while you are working unless there is an emergency.

Working from home with children in the house can be very tricky, however it CAN BE DONE! I'm sure there are thousands of "work at home" moms that have figured this out, and I'm also sure there are many more that are struggling every day trying to get work done in order to get some money in to help pay the bills.

If you are just now contemplating working at home, make a tentative schedule ahead of time and make sure you, your spouse and your children are prepared for the adjustment. It may take some getting used to, and the original planned schedule may need to be altered a little, but with patience and perseverance it can be worked out.

YEAH!! Just finished the content paragraph and ready for a little bit of touch up here and there. I hear a couple of the little ones calling for me, and my daughter has just pulled up to pick everybody up.

I feel like I've accomplished something today - normally I just figure our "baby" days are for taking care of them, and not doing any work.

My hat's off to my daughter -- once again I just don't see how she does everything she does. And if you'd like to read a little about her, she's at http://www.squidoo.com/quadruplets.

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