I work as a virtual assistant from home, so that means that I am often working whilst my four-year-old plays quietly/watches TV/plays on the computer. He has come up to me and asked me why I ALWAYS have to work. I explained to him, that I don't ALWAYS have to work. I point out to him the activities he does during the week: swimming, kindy gym, playing with his friends, soccer, family outings etc. I also explain that if I didn't work at home, that I would have to work outside the home and that he would have to go to daycare five days per week instead of the two he does now, or worse, I would have to work at night, like before where I was grumpy all the time from lack of sleep. I then give him the choice of which he would prefer and he sees that it is much better to have mum at home but busy some of the time than not seeing mum at all.

The thing I really do feel guilty about is that I have been studying part-time for all of their childhood so far. I am very naughty and often procrastinate when it comes to assignments and exams, so this means that I don't study during the week and often at times before an assignment, I have to cram the work into the weekend. My husband takes the boys on fun outings while I study, but he says that they are very aware that mum often misses out on these fun days. I know that this is an area where I could improve my mothering by trying harder to do my assignments in plenty of time so it doesn't encroach on weekend family time.