the way it works.

this is my office.

for those of you who don't know, our family lives in a very small corner of a very large house.  we are part of a community made up of 12 adults and 4 children (the newest addition is only 3 days old!).  we love our house and we love our housemates, but sharing life and space does present some challenges.  one being: where do we fit everything/everyone?  

i thought some of you might be interested in getting a little glimpse behind closed doors to see what the glamorous life of sharalee prang is all about.  for those of you who are not interested, simply close this window, take a deep breath and be glad the next few minutes of your life were not wasted away hearing me talk about dirty diapers and lack of sleep.  but for the rest of you sickos, here we go. 

i figured this picture needed a legend to give you a broader view of what's all goin down here.

1. the sink.  where i mixed simon's bottle at 4:30 this morning.  where i wash my coffee mugs.  where the warm sudsy water sits for a day until it is no longer warm nor sudsy and i have to reach my hand in and pull the plug out.

2. where all my little papers and discs and business cards and random odds and ends that a pack rat such as i will be stored.  maybe an envelope with your name and a stamp on it will sit there someday soon.

3. my desk.  it has not been ideal, but it certainly has served it's purpose.  the top flips down and there are some nifty compartments inside, all of which are currently empty (thanks to my amazing husband who just moved this in for me and gave me a great reason to organize).  behind that door also sits my precious camera.  so if you ever break in, you know where to go first.

4.  my 10 year old $10 ikea plastic chair (all the chiropractors around the world unite in a collective scream).  it is far from ergonomically correct.  my physiotherapist and my carpel tunnel can attest to that.  though, hanging on the back is a cute sweater i just got at the last clothing swap i had with my girls (holla ladies!).

5.  my daughter's doll high chair.  i suppose i could have cleaned up before i took this picture.  but that just wouldn't have been an honest representation.

6.  the beautiful african print my husband bought for me in san francisco when i was pregnant with our first child.

7. the chair i rocked simon to sleep in at 4:30 this morning when the aforementioned bottle didn't work.

8.  the doll bed full of the kids dress up clothes.  at last check, it housed dragon, zebra, monkey and giraffe costumes, as well as a mexican wrestling mask and "princess" shin pads.

9.  our bedroom.  when i'm working at night, cliff is close enough to hear me snickering at my sister's blog posts, but far enough that he can actually still fall asleep with the door open.

10.  my beloved mac.  i don't want to hear from no haters out there.

11.  cliff's laptop.  isn't that romantic?  he lets me use the chair.

12. the room our three children (ages 4, 2 and 1) share.  when i'm working at night, i'm close enough to hear allie singing "the lion sleeps tonight" and she's close enough to hear me say, "SHHHH.  your brothers are trying to sleep!"

13.  a print from the amazingly talented jennifer judd-mcgee.  i just found out she's having a sale at her etsy shop, so i'm going shopping for next year's wedding gifts!

so now when you get an e-mail from me at an ungodly hour or you call and hear screaming in the background, you have a little context.  and if you have any suggestions for ways i could better use/beautify that space, please let me know!!