What is your profession and how many hours per week do you work?I currently work full time (37 hours) as a Administrative officer for a Surestart Children's Centre. I also run Piddley Pix from home, which sells pictures for kids, all sorts of art/illustrations for nurseries and kids bedrooms - the hours for this can vary.
Could you describe a typical day in your life?
Getting up nice and early to spend a bit of time with my son before I get ready and go to work, I tend to get to work for 8, luckily I can work flexi hours, which means I don't have to work set hours everyday - very helpful when you have a toddler! A typical day involves monitoring, finance, supervising two members of staff and other admin tasks. When I have finished I head home to see my husband and son. We have some tea and then spend a couple of hours, playing, reading and having fun with Isaac. After Isaac's bedtime, I do some work on Piddley Pix, checking emails, dealing with new products, sorting orders and networking, and then it's time for a bit of sleep before it all starts again!
What do you feel are the pros and cons of being a working mother?
For pro's, I get to have adult conversation, the pay helps with the bills and it gets me out of the house daily and I have to make moments with my family special, because they are in the minority! The biggest con has to be how much I miss Isaac during the day! I would love to be at home seeing him grow and watching him develop, it's upsetting when he does something new and I am not there to see it!
Why did you decide to branch out and work for yourself?
Piddley Pix originally started from a hobby I had doing some pictures for my son's room. Both my husband and I love to draw and so the idea for designing and printing Pictures for kids was born out of our passion! I love the idea of a baby or toddler receiving a Piddley Pix as a gift.
What are your childcare arrangements?
At the moment Isaac is lucky and gets to spend his time with his Daddy, Kev works from home so fits it in around being a full time dad!
What would be your top tip for working mums in order to cope with the demands of their day to day lives?
I have two; the first is to make the time you spend with your children special, even if it is just quality time reading a book together and the second is to remember to be you sometimes, take some time to do something you love, something that takes you away from being a 'mum' or a 'worker' just for a little bit!
