My son was quite colicky and teethed early, and there were no other moms with young children nearby where I could turn for support. Although I loved my son dearly, it was a very isolating time, and I was desperate for more stimulation. My husband and I agreed that day care was not an acceptable option for us, we felt it was our job as parents to care for our son, despite the difficulty of living on one salary.

I had always been very creative on my own time; quilting, cross-stitching, drawing, etc, and decided to use this interest to generate some money, however small the amount. I began making crafts ( and my husband did some laser engraving, wood working and stained glass) and sold them at craft fairs in town. I really enjoyed getting a day to myself, interacting with adults, and sharing my skills. Although the income I generated from the craft fairs was no way near my former salary, I was proud of my earnings.

It soon became obvious that crafting, although enjoyable, was too labor intensive and seasonal with such a young child (and we soon found out, another on the way). My husband and I decided to put our business on the Internet to establish a more regular source of income. I decided to transform my craft creations into digital form and designed quilt and cross-stitch patterns. So, our business originally included the sale of patterns and my husband's laser engraving services.

While creating our website in Publisher, my technical background resurfaced, and I picked apart the code it generated and played around improving the layout. Without it being my intention, I taught myself html, and have coded from scratch ever since.

As part of my husband's laser engraving work, we had several graphic design packages on our computer. I just began playing around with them, and like coding taught myself how to use them.

Before I knew it, I was spending more time coding and designing graphics for clients than doing craft patterns. Strangely enough, I enjoyed it more, too! So, my end of the business evolved into web and graphic design; the perfect combination of creativity and technical challenge for me.

I love the flexibility of my work schedule. Working from home as allowed me to keep my focus on my children, without losing myself in the process. Granted, it is a daily juggling act attempting to balance out mothering, running a house, and completing projects for clients. I fully intend to continue working out of the home once both children are in school full time; I want to be available whenever they need me while continuing to grow the business that has given me a greater sense of pride and accomplishment then I ever found working outside the home.

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