I last worked for money on 27th July 2007.
That's not to say I've been idle over the past four and a half years. I've been a Stay At Home Mum (SAHM) to my two children. Before I had children I imagined that SAHM's spent a lot of time reading, having coffee mornings or watching daytime television. How wrong was I? I've never worked so hard in my life.
Presley and Cash will both be starting school in September (yes, they're in the same school year!). Andy and I have been discussing my return to work options. I'm a qualified accountant and used to work as a Financial Controller. In my last job I managed a department of 36. I was a well-paid big fish. I was a confident senior manager and very good at my job. After my career break I think it is highly unlikely that I'll walk back into a job anywhere near that level. Also, I'm no longer willing to work the excessive hours that go with that role. So that option is a non-starter.
Another option would be re-training. I have thought about teaching as this seems to be a good fit for working mothers. But I don't want to have to start again at the bottom of the career ladder. I'm not even sure I like other people's children enough to be a good teacher!
So, what else could I do? I wish I had an exciting idea for a business, but I'm not an entrepreneur. What am I good at? Well, I'm okay at blogging. I can write a bit. But every blogger wants to be a freelance writer, don't they? I've written bits and pieces for other people recently. Could I build up enough of an income with writing work?
All of these thoughts were flying round, keeping me awake at night, and then I saw that Sally was looking for someone to join her team. I asked for more details and... to cut a long story short... it's now official. I'm the new editor of the Tots100 blog. This means writing and editing blog posts and the newsletter and running the Twitter and Facebook accounts.
I'm really excited, this job is right up my street and I can't wait to get my teeth into it properly. I can blog about blogging, something I don't do here. I'm withdrawing Baby Baby from the Tots100 index of UK parent blogs so there is no conflict of interest, although - fortunately - I won't be getting involved with the mechanics of the index.
My first day as a Work At Home Mum (WAHM) was yesterday. It didn't start all that well. I was up most of the night before with a vomiting child. The boys couldn't do their two and a half hours at nursery so I didn't have a break. All I managed was a few tweets. Today wasn't much better as the boys had to stay at home again. I felt nervous and clumsily tweeted from the wrong Twitter account twice. I also made such a bodge of typing one tweet I wondered whether I was cut out for, well, anything.
I really appreciate already how hard it is to be a WAHM. I feel like I haven't been concentrating on either role particularly well. I guess I will settle into the freelance life. I know I have to be disciplined with my time and I'll have to fake it until I make it with the confidence thing. The boys are usually at nursery for a couple of hours every day and I can work in the evenings.
How do you cope with working and looking after your children? Do you have any top tips for me?
(With apologies to Tasha at WAHM-BAM for stealing her wonderful blog name as the title for this post).
Congratulations!!!
ReplyDeleteI have looked after several social media accounts for the last 5 years and still get that heart stopping moment of 'oh my goodness, did this post to the right account?!'
My top tip would be: don't feel too guilty if you have to rely on CBeebies/kids tv every so often to get some work finished ;) xx
That's brilliant news! Well done and you will be great, don't worry. It is a big adjustment at the moment and probably it will feel like a big mess at times but give it a couple of weeks and you will have a new tuned routine.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I have been a wahm for nearly 4 years now and I am still adjusting as we evolve in our life. Like Alice said dont feel bad if at times you need to use of things like tv to do some work. It will happen and that's fine :)
Well done again x
That's brilliant news! Well done and you will be great, don't worry. It is a big adjustment at the moment and probably it will feel like a big mess at times but give it a couple of weeks and you will have a new tuned routine.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I have been a wahm for nearly 4 years now and I am still adjusting as we evolve in our life. Like Alice said dont feel bad if at times you need to use of things like tv to do some work. It will happen and that's fine :)
Well done again x
Congratulations on your new job. Just as a point of interest I gave birth on your last day of work :-)
ReplyDeleteI've been a WAHM for almost two years now and sometimes it's easier than others. I guess the main advantage is you can work in your pjs without any make up if you wish. One tip I would give you is, if you haven't managed to do all you wanted to do in any particular day, don't stay up all night finishing it. I've done that a few times and it's really not worth it.
Congratulations and good luck. I would love to be a WAHM but don't know what I'd do or feel like I can make that leap. So I'm a work at work mum. I look forward to hearing how you balance this and wish you all the very best. xx
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome news Sandy, well done you. I can barely manage being a working Mum let alone a WAHM!!! x
ReplyDeleteIt's funny I was a bit confused by the email address, and thought to myself when did you start being behind TOTS100, didn't think it was that recent! Congrats! I worked from home yesterday too, it's a real juggle, and I was lucky as my little one was ill but sleepy ill, so I did actually get some time to focus on work.
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy, congrats on your new role. Joanne Dewberry of Charlie Moo's blogged some tips for WAHM coping with school holidays for us this week link is here http://www.greatvine.com/help-and-information/blog/?p=513
ReplyDeleteI know the holidays have now passed and your boys are yet to start, but they might be helpful :-)
Hi Sandy, first visit to your blog, I have only been an SAHM for a year so it's nice to see that eventually there can be a transition back to the working world, although it sounds difficult.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I can't imagine doing anything else outside of full time motherhood as it is so demanding, but your post is inspiring!
Congrats on the new job!
ReplyDeleteI find it impossible to get anything done with K at home (she is younger than your two though and not at nursery yet) and have to use a childminder whether I'm working from home or out and about.
You do manage though. The good thing about working at home is that you can fit in boring chores, like washing, around your work so you don't end up with loads to do at the weekend.
Congrats, that sounds like a perfect fit for you. And realistically, being a blog at home mum is definitely excellent training for being an official WAHM, even if you don't have the same deadline pressures.
ReplyDeleteSo I think you'll manage fine and adjust as you go. Keep your expectations of yourself realistic and as someone else mentioned, don't be afraid of a little CBeebies ;-)
Congratulations! I have only just spotted this post, via Technorati, but from what I've seen you're doing very well. I think the main thing is to organise your time well and always know what you need to get done. Don't plan to use all your child-free time for work, because if there's an emergency or disaster, you have no time to salvage it. And also because it is important to keep some me time. Oh, and you will really come to appreciate school hours in September!
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