Welcome to Meet the Working Mum Interview. Today we meet Gina Caro. Gina juggles a range of jobs from local Mumsnet editors to freelancing to running two blogs – Gypsy Soul and Water Gypsy.
If you have missed any of the previous interviews, or if you are new to this series, check out all the other Meet the Working Mum’s.
An intro and a little bit about you, your family and where you live.
Hello, I’m Gina. I currently live in Devon with my partner, our two children and an untrainable dog called Charles.
What do you do for a job? Is it what you have always wanted to do?
In my pre-children life, I worked for Cancer Research UK, I was there for 8 years and loved working for such a good cause. After we had our second child we decided to make the move down to Devon from Kent.
When we arrived I had two children under 3 and no job! The cost of the childcare was crazy so I decided to start my own business. 6 years later I am self-employed and loving my job. I do a few different things including writing two blogs, freelance writing and I’m also the editor for Mumsnet Devon & Mumsnet Plymouth.
I can honestly say hand on heart that I love my job and can’t ever imagine doing anything else now!
What was your motivation to return to work?
I was going crazy being a stay at home mum! It was fine for a while but I knew I couldn’t do it forever. I’m definitely a better Mother as a working Mother rather than a stay at home one.
How many hours do you work a week?
As I’m self-employed that varies hugely from week to week, some weeks I’m flat out and others I take a week off to be with the children more. I love the flexibility of working for myself.
Do you have to travel far from where you live to where you work?
My travel involves walking down my stairs to my desk. That’s it! Sometimes I do have to go out for meetings but only a few times a month on average.
If you use public transport what do you do to pass the time on your commute?
No public transport for me. Although I did get on a bus once when my car was in the garage. It was a horrifying experience never to be repeated.
What do you do for childcare? Does this work for you?
As I work for myself at home I simply work around the children being at school. I still get to drop them off and pick them up every day which I love. The school holidays can be difficult but I tend to work more in the evenings then.
The school does have a breakfast and after school club which I could use if need be, I haven’t as yet but it’s nice to know it’s there if I need it.
What does your morning routine look like? What do you do to get you all out of the house on time?
As much as I would love to be I’m simply not a morning person! I believe some things you can change and others you just can’t. Although saying that a morning routine definitely helps in getting us out the door on time.
My morning routine mainly involves me getting up half asleep and shouting random words at my children like socks, teeth & shoes!
I admit it’s something I should work on although we are never late for anything, I don’t do late, so it’s not so bad.
What do you like about being a working mum?
It keeps my brain functioning properly. I have quite an overactive brain and constantly need to be doing something. I also like the fact that I contribute to our household financially, I don’t believe it’s fair for that pressure to be solely on one person.
What don’t you like about being a working mum?
The constant juggling! I seem to spend my life snatching moments of time to do a variety of different things. Although I’m working the kids still need to be picked up from school, the house needs to be kept clean, the washing needs doing, everyone needs feeding, the list goes on.
What would you change? Hours you work, commute you have to make etc.
I’d love a ‘proper’ office! Currently, my partner and I both work from the table in the breakfast room. It’s not ideal. We do have plans to convert our garage to an office though which I’m really looking forward to.
I think having a dedicated work space will help to keep me focused and not get distracted by the millions of other things that need doing in the house.
What three tips would you pass onto a mum about to start back at work?
Have a backup plan for childcare! If your childcare, whatever that may be, lets you down it’s really handy to have a plan B otherwise you could miss days at work.
Get a slow cooker. Sounds random but my slow cooker is a godsend. I can put our supper in it in the morning and it just bubbles away until we are ready to eat it.
Get help. If you can afford it get a cleaner or someone to do your ironing. You don’t want to kill yourself trying to do it all. If paid help isn’t an option then start a chore chart for everyone else in the house to take part in. You should not be responsible for everything!
For fun show us a picture of your work handbag – what make is it and what’s the most unworkable thing in it I.e. Kids hair accessories, toy cars etc.
I don’t have a work handbag as I work from home, sorry!
Thank you so much for taking part in the Meet the Mum interview series Gina. I can imagine you are feeling rather busy juggling all those differently roles and running a household.
Gina has a range of social media accounts for her blogs, she can found on Twitter and Pinterest. Gina also has a Facebook page and Instagram account for Gypsy Soul as well as for Water Gypsy – Facebook and Instagram.
If you would like to be featured in my Meet the Working Mum series send an email to:- organisedjo@outlook.com
Jo
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I love this series Jo, it’s great to hear of other working Mums, I know I’m not alone!
What a great series and I love Gina, we have been blogging friends since we both started and met for real last year. Such a lovely lady, approachable, quietly confident and quite stunning. I have a feeling she will have that proper office sorted in time, Gina is someone who gets things done. #BloggerclubUK
I love reading these! I think the word that sums us mums up is ‘juggling’ which is fine until there are too many balls in the air and not enough hands to keep them going!
Totally agree with you Lisa. The juggling can get very stressful. X