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home safety tips

Taking Control of our Back-to-School Routine with Guardian

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Okay, so maybe some of you think that should be the holidays, but for those of us with two or more kids, the most wonderful time of the year is Back-to-School season!

Our new school year only started a week ago, but we are already into a decent routine, thanks in large part to Guardian Alarm.

Living right next to the school has its benefits. Walking Ari to school each morning takes all of 1 minute. Traditionally, elementary school students in our district require an adult to pick them up at the end of the day. However, our proximity to the school means that Ari is allowed to walk home alone — even as a 1st Grader!

kid going back to school

He has been able to maintain a bit of independence by letting himself in using our Guardian Alarm deadbolt with a passcode. He has his own passcode which not only allows him to enter but notifies me via the TotalConnect app when he does.

kid using home security system
Kid using keyless entry

It has been incredibly helpful since school release is during the girls’ nap time. He has definitely taken charge with the home automation aspects, too!

And, of course, having the safety and security of knowing that he is home safe after a long school day is a huge relief. When I’m upstairs with the girls, I wait to hear that he is home, and then I check on him with our security camera. I can see him in the kitchen finding himself an afterschool snack. Then I watch him take it to the dining room, where he settles in for a few minutes of ‘chill’ time before homework.

Use this handy printable checklist to help the back-to-school transition:

back-to-school-checklist

As in all times of transition, we will find a good rhythm soon enough.

Back-to-School Checklist - PIN ME

Leave It To The Pros // Why We Chose A Professionally Installed Home Security System

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THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY GUARDIAN ALARM BUT THE CONTENT AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE ARE MY OWN.

It’s hard to believe we’ve already been in our forever home for 7 months! We’ve done so much to make this house a home, but, funny enough, I have yet to hang up any photos or wall decor! I just can’t commit to the placement of things!

Besides not having anything hanging on our walls, the other major difference between this home and our old house was how we decided to protect our investment.

…

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Latchkey Kids – A Safe Summer With Guardian Alarm

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THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY GUARDIAN ALARM BUT THE CONTENT AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE ARE MY OWN

It’s officially Summer! Can you believe it?! Since school let out, there’s been some chatter amongst a large group of work-at-home moms of which I am in a group on Facebook. We are… struggling. Our kids can be extra demanding without the structure of a school day, and we’re all just doing our best to make it through and (fingers crossed) get a little bit of work done throughout days.

Thankfully, our new home as a huge yard with lots of room to run and play, so I’m doing my best trying to balance our days between being outdoors and finding a time where at least I can be inside getting some work done.

In addition to the huge yard, we have a park and playground adjacent to our house! Approximately 90% of our outdoor moments are spent running on that playground, chasing one another around, and swinging from the monkey bars. How lucky are we, right!?

Well, I consider myself extra lucky because, thanks to Guardian Home Security, I’m able to quickly walk out my back door and with a swipe of my hand, my deadbolt is locked until I put my passcode in upon return. Easy peasy! There are no bulky keys needed to bring with me (or keep track of) on the playground. And I can use my phone and the Total Connect App to unlock the deadbolt as we approach upon our return (very convenient for when it’s starting to rain and I need to get my crew indoors ASAP).

But I also need to allow my oldest to go to the playground with friends (and their parents). And Guardian Alarm makes it incredibly convenient. Ari has his own 4-digit code to unlock the deadbolt; so I can be tending to the girls inside or working, and he can let himself in to get a snack or use the bathroom. I feel so much better about letting him be a pseudo-latchkey kid (which, let me tell you, does not come naturally to me, despite being free to roam the neighborhood myself as a kid).

I try to ease some of my helicopter-parenting-tendencies with the help of the Guardian Alarm camera (which I conveniently have pointed towards the area of the yard where our children play the most). So whilst I’m working in my office, I can glance at my phone and have a clear view of where they are (newsflash: these days it’s almost always on the trampoline).

Truthfully, I was really nervous about this Summer. I was afraid that I would need to be outdoors with my kids 24/7; but, in reality, Guardian Alarm has provided me with even more peace of mind than I imagined. Sure, it’s about keeping our family safe from intruders; but it’s also about giving myself a chance to breathe because I know they are okay.

What’s one way

you give your children

a little freedom

during the Summer?

 

Home Safety at Your Fingertips

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THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY GUARDIAN ALARM BUT THE CONTENT AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED HERE ARE MY OWN.

 

Ohh, Memorial Day weekend! We’ve officially been in our home for 6 months — can you believe that?! Where does the time go? As we enter this weekend I feel… calm. Truly, I feel calm. Yes, we will be traveling to visit family and attend various celebrations, but I am breathing a breath of fresh air in the fact that I have not once hesitated on whether or not our home is safe while we are off living our busy lives.

I have to admit, looking back at our situation in our previous home, safety was certainly a concern, but not enough so that we did anything about it. There were many times where Chad was out of town for work and I was left alone with our children, and I just didn’t feel ‘safe.’ I would spend those days (and nights) worrying about a home intruder — just hoping that we would not have to deal with that type of situation. I’m thankful that those fears can now be put to rest.

See, while the kids and I are on the go this Memorial Day weekend, Chad will be off working the entire weekend. But we’ll both be able to monitor the safety and security of our home with Total Connect, the mobile app from Guardian Alarm.

Total Connect allows me to monitor the safety and security of our home when we’re away. I can control the handy lamp module that’s currently installed in our living room so I can effortlessly turn lights off and on (and thus give the appearance that we’re home even when we’re away). I can also check on that big package we’re expecting by live-streaming our Guardian Alarm camera. It’s so handy and easy to use.

I’ve long wondered what the fuss of automation in a security system was all about, but having the Total Connect app at my fingertips has truly changed our lives. Entering the house when I get home from Memorial Day festivities is made so much easier because I’m able to both disarm and unlock our back door with the push of a button.

While we’re off playing in the park, meeting up with friends for playdates, and enjoying the nice, long, weekend, Guardian Alarm will be taking care of the rest.

Now if only Guardian Alarm could help with keeping three crazy kids under control during all of these outings! Ha! I’m kidding, obviously, but I seriously wouldn’t mind if someone invented a teleportation device to effortlessly get us to-and-from our destinations without having to battle traffic!

How are you

 

keeping your home

 

safe and secure

 

this holiday?

 

 

Travel Tips // Getting Peace of Mind with Guardian Alarm

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This post is sponsored by Guardian Alarm but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.

Well hello, spring! I feel like we’re finally pulling out of our season of hibernation and are about to enter the season of travel.

This Easter weekend we’ll be taking our first trip away from our new home since our big move in December. In anticipation of this trip, Chad and I decided it was time to get some peace of mind by having Guardian Alarm come out and install a security monitoring system.

Years ago (which seemed like another lifetime) I heard several stories from people who had just had a break-in. It was heartbreaking on so many levels. What was most rattling was that these people — often times parents with small children — no longer felt safe in their own homes. From that moment on, security has been a top priority. I never want to feel like my safe haven has been violated by a stranger.

When I contacted Guardian Alarm, they walked me through how the process would work — from beginning to end. We discussed areas of the home that I really needed to secure like all three doors, securing the hallway to alert us to potential intruders, and a camera to keep an eye on things.

I definitely want to protect my kids from potential intruders, but I also want to make our lives easier with home automation. So we decided to get the keyless entry deadbolt, a lamp module, and also a combination fire alarm/CO2 detector.

The installation process was so easy and wonderful. Our installer, Megan, walked me through the entire process step-by-step. I had so many questions about which was the ‘right’ way to secure our home. She took the time to answer all of the questions in depth. We even decided to separate the CO2 detector from the fire alarm (at her suggestion) so that we could assure our home would be it’s safest.

Thanks to Megan, the placement of the CO2 detector will immediately recognize as soon as there is a danger or threat to our family — and the monitored system will notify emergency services. It’s amazing.

But most importantly, when we travel this weekend I won’t worry about the fact that we have a very high-profile location. This house sat vacant for many years and I often hear people say “Oh you’re the people who bought that house! We always talked about buying it! It’s such a great location!” And they’re right. We’re right next to our sons’ elementary school.

Unfortunately, this means that there is a good amount of foot traffic, both for the school and the playground. There is a parking lot near the edge of our property. And we’ve noticed that people certainly like to cut through the drive. I plan on using the lamp dimmer switch to remotely turn off and on our living room light at key times during the day and evening and I’ll check in on the property with the camera just for a little bit of extra peace of mind.

Honestly, I can’t imagine entering into this busy season of life (with all of the travel, sports, and other various activities) without having a Guardian Alarm system to keep us all safe.

 

How do you

keep peace of mind

when you travel?