The main reason the former software programmer and mother of 19-month-old twin boys wanted to work at home was to create a balance between her work and her home life.

But the long hours she spent working as a programmer now pale in comparison to those she puts in as a business owner.

Her first work shift starts at 8 a.m. when the babysitter arrives at her Dartmouth home and lasts until 3 p.m. when her boys get up from their afternoon nap. Then when the kids are down for the night, she puts in another full shift at her computer, working until two or three in the morning.

"I said to my husband, ‘I’m just exhausted. I’m working so much . . . I just can’t keep going at this pace.’ "

See the full story at The ChronicleHerald.ca