Full-Time, Part-time Or Stay-at-Home?

For the first time since December 2008 I’ve done a full days work. Eight whole hours of work. It was tough. We’ve got a new computer system at work so I’ve worked a full day today and I’m working a full day tomorrow {yes Saturday!} to help with the transition. Thankfully it’s just the two days! But it got me thinking…

Since going back to work after Oliver was born, I’ve worked part time. I work Tuesday to Friday mornings which is a meagre 20 hours per week! For me, it’s the perfect balance of work and family time.

I’ve always been full of admiration for full time mums and dads, it’s the  hardest job in the world. It’s also the most rewarding job in the world but I don’t think I could do it. {Maybe if we had a bigger house, I could but that’s a whole other post!} I had almost a year off both times I was on maternity leave and I loved being at home during that time. Both times I was dreading going back to work, but when I actually went back something just clicked, and I felt like my life had a better balance. So I came to the conclusion that I’m just not cut out to be a stay at home mum.

Anyway, after the full day’s work I’ve done today I have a greater admiration for mums who work full time. Not because I thought they had it easy, far from it. I don’t think I’d given it a great deal of thought to how hard it really is. I worked from 7.30am – 4.00pm and I was knackered! I couldn’t be bothered to make tea so the Darlings had tea at their grandparents and Hubby and I had a takeaway. I have a massive pile of washing to do and the bathroom needs cleaning, which are normally jobs I do in an afternoon. I don’t know how mums who work full time fit it all in. Though nowadays some families don’t really have much choice. Financial situations mean that mums have to work full time to bring two salaries in or have to be the main earner as they have a higher salary.

I love my time at work, a few hours of being ‘Debra’ not ‘Mummy’ all the time. I jokingly say that work is the easy part of my day… sitting at my desk, drinking bottomless cups of coffee and having adult conversations. Don’t get me wrong I often feel guilt and relief in equal measures when I leave for work. But although it’s sometimes hard work being at home with two little people under four,  I love my time with them even more and it makes me appreciate every single minute with them. Because I’m not with them 24/7, I have more patience and acceptance, I feel it makes me a better mum.

So full time work, part time work or stay at home? More money for your family or more time with your family?  I honestly don’t think one situation is better than another, it’s just what works best for your family. Working part time is best for us and today has made me appreciate it even more.

Do you work full or part time? Are you a stay at home mum? What do you think about your situation?

Weigh In – Week 7

Another 1lb lost this week… yippee! So a total of 13lbs in 7 weeks. I’m really pleased with how its going. I can feel that I’ve lost weight… my clothes are looser, I’ve had to buy some new jeans in a smaller size and a few people who don’t know I’m dieting have commented to say I look like I’ve lost weight!

I still treat myself to a takeaway on a Saturday night. But now instead of pizza or korma, I’ll  have something healthier like a chicken kebab in pitta bread (356 cals) or a KFC Brazer burger meal (640 cals). I wouldn’t be able to do this diet of I didn’t have something to look forward to and have a treat now and again.

I don’t want to deprive myself of anything or else I’ll just get obsessed with wanting to eat it! So if I fancy some chocolate or crisps, I’ll have a treat size bag of chocolate buttons (74 cals) or a packet of Walkers French Fries (84 cals). Before I might have had a KitKat Chunky (263 cals) or a packet or McCoys crisps (258 cals).

It’s the small changes like these that are making a difference but mean that I’m not suffering too much!

Balancing Act

Hubby is on the late shift this week which means he works from 1.30pm till 10pm. So he stays at home with the darlings while I go to work from 7.30am till 12.30pm. We kind of do a quick swap over when I get home, then he goes off to work! When he’s on the early shift (6am – 1.30pm) my parents look after the darlings. I realise we’re VERY lucky to have this arrangement so that we don’t have to pay for childcare.

Work was nice and steady today. The company I work for is a network of independent financial advisers and my department investigates complaints about them! My job is to do the admin for the department, so I deal with correspondence and requesting information from various different parties so that we can investigate the complaint. 

Me at my desk a few years ago!

This wasn’t originally my career of choice but various events have led me to where I am today! I graduated from uni in 2000 with a degree in Marketing. Shortly after graduating, I went to work for a carpet manufacturer as Marketing Assistant but a couple of years later the company closed down and I was made redundant. Luckily I was offered a job with the parent company in customer services which I took as a stop gap until I found another marketing job. Well I ended up loving the job and stayed there for 5 years! I left there to work for a bank call centre which only lasted a year as I hated it! So in January 2007 I started work for the company I’m with now, firstly as a Complaints Co-ordinator and then as Complaints Administrator when I returned to work part time after maternity leave when Oliver was born. 

I enjoy my job and work with a fab bunch of people, I feel like ‘Debra’ for a few hours a day instead of ‘Mummy’! I love the darlings with all my heart but I feel that the balance between my work and home life makes me a better, more relaxed mum!

Welcome!

Wow my first ever blog post. I’m quite excited about all this!

I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for a few months and have finally taken the plunge tonight. I’ve been using Twitter as a bit of a mini-blog recently… just tweeting about my everyday life and thoughts, so I wanted to sort of expand on that and create a proper blog. It’s taken me an hour to choose the name and design; I’m happy with it for now but I’m sure it will change in the coming weeks because that’s what I’m like! I chose the blog name as it’s mainly going to be about mine and my children’s everyday lives. I just want to create a diary of what we do on a day to day basis and have a place to record my children’s developments.

So a bit about me! I’m Debra, 36 years old, married to Ben and we have two beautiful children, 3 year old Oliver and 1 year old Lydia. We all live in a ‘too small’ house in West Yorkshire which we have been trying to sell for nearly 2 years!  I have a degree in Marketing but I currently work part time as an administrator for a financial services company. I absolutely love being a mum and my children are my life but I love working too so think I’ve got a really good balance at the moment.

Well I’ll leave it there for now or else I’ll be rambling on about myself for ages!