Day in a Life ~ TGIF
I work three days a week, and here is a glimpse of one of my non-working days.
4.25 a.m. Little An whimpers and I am awakened. I check on her and realise that she is still asleep. Thoughts about what I need to do today flood my mind and I have difficulty falling back to sleep. Thankfully, I eventually do.
7 a.m. An wakes up at this time and calls for me. I take her out of the cot and change her. She makes her way to the study and chooses some books for me to read to her. I happily do so while slumped on the sofa bed in the study. (J and Lyn sometimes stay over at my in-laws' and last night was one such night, otherwise we would all be up earlier.)
7.30 a.m. Lyn comes home after sending J to school. This is an anomaly. He usually goes to work straightaway but as he has to conduct a funeral today, he comes home to change his outfit and to look through the homily. I am elated to see him home. Lyn sits with An and me for a while before continuing with his work.
7.45 a.m. I have read all the books that An has chosen. I prepare her breakfast and sit with her while she eats. At the end of the meal, she has a coughing fit and throws up a little. Lyn helps to clean the floor while I clean An. After everything is in order again, I read and play with An.
9 a.m. I pack up and get ready to bring An to the Botanic Gardens, where I have arranged to meet a friend to celebrate her birthday. On other weeks when we do not have any appointments, An and I will go on short outings, which I enjoy and she seems to enjoy.
9.35 a.m. We arrive at Food for Thought and have breakfast with my friend. An plays for a while at the restaurant's playground before we take a short walk at the gardens. We leave at about 11 a.m. so that An can take a nap.
11.25 a.m. We are at home and I put An in her cot for her nap. Lyn has left the house by this time. I prepare An's lunch (porridge with spinach, broccoli, mushroom, fish and chicken) in five minutes and go back to the bedroom to peek at her. Oh no! She is sitting up and playing with her pillow. I decide to catalyse her falling asleep, as we need to pick J up from school in the afternoon and she usually naps for 1.5 hours. I do that by patting her. An is totally in dreamland by 11.40 a.m.
11.40 a.m. I have 1.5 hours to do the million things I have on my to-do list. I check my email and find that some students have submitted their assignment. I pack An's lunch after it is cooked into a thermos flask, as well as some books and toys for a playdate in the afternoon. I do some marking and write some maths questions for work. Time just flies by and I still have a million things to do.
1.10 p.m. An wakes up and I quickly whisk her off to J's school. Along the car ride, she gets a tad upset as she is unable to get her fruit snack out of its bag. When that is solved, I see her moving her legs to the rhythm of the piped in music.
1.25 p.m. Thankfully, the traffic is smooth and we arrive in J's school before the crowd streams out. When J meets us, I realise he is not as bubbly as usual. He usually smiles broadly and hugs his sister when he spots us. I find out about his day as we walk along. He did not feel well and had gone to the sick bay. Poor boy. As An has a playdate this afternoon, we eat out instead of going all the way home. I feed An her porridge while J eats his sandwich.
3.10 p.m. We arrive home. J washes up and rests. I tell J to practise the piano after he rests. I discover that J's definition of rest means reading a book. Since it is a Friday, I allow him some indulgence. I read and do some activities with An ......
4.30 p.m. An drinks milk while J reluctantly practises the piano. I become the Tiger Mum and tell him to practise a particular part till it sounds more fluent. How do other mums motivate their children to practise the piano, I wonder. After An finishes her milk, she practises scooting in our small living room and I pace up and down with her while dictating to J what he should play on the piano.
5.30 p.m. We go down to the playground to get some fresh air.
6 p.m. I cook pasta. The meal is ready by 6.25 p.m. Lyn is involved in the Alpha Course in church in the evening so he does not join us for dinner.
7.10 p.m. An and I finish our meal quickly, but J takes more time as he is distracted by a book again. By 7.10 p.m., he finishes and I wash the dishes before giving An a bath.
7.25 p.m. I read a Bible story to An and she falls asleep quite promptly. After that, J does his homework while I do more marking. (J normally has no homework, but as he was in the sick bay during Chinese class, he did not complete the given worksheet in school.)
8.30 p.m. J says that he feels uncomfortable and needs to sleep. Usually, we memorise a Bible verse and read a story together before he sleeps, but as he feels unwell, we only memorise the verse. I feel sorry that we have to miss the story time because I enjoy reading with him.
8.40 p.m. J washes up and gets ready for bed. I pray with him. He starts chatting about school and his favourite game and I listen intently as this is when I find out most about him.
9.10 p.m. I am out of J's room and have my personal time. Activities during personal time range from ironing and packing the house to reading, marking, blogging and sleeping (Some nights I sleep at 9 plus). This night, I decide to forsake the work and instead chill out, read the news, go on Fb, follow up on my Bible reading plan and type this blog entry. Lyn comes back close to 11 p.m. and we talk for a while.
12.40 a.m. I complete this blog entry and am all ready to zzzzzz.....
______________________
This post is part of the Day in a Life blog train hosted by Mum in the Making. Click on the button to take a 24 hour peek into the lives of different mummies, or link up with your own post!
Next up on the blog train is Cindy.
4.25 a.m. Little An whimpers and I am awakened. I check on her and realise that she is still asleep. Thoughts about what I need to do today flood my mind and I have difficulty falling back to sleep. Thankfully, I eventually do.
7 a.m. An wakes up at this time and calls for me. I take her out of the cot and change her. She makes her way to the study and chooses some books for me to read to her. I happily do so while slumped on the sofa bed in the study. (J and Lyn sometimes stay over at my in-laws' and last night was one such night, otherwise we would all be up earlier.)
 |
| The Chinese storybooks have been placed at a strategic location so they are usually the first books An takes from the shelf. Hehe. |
7.30 a.m. Lyn comes home after sending J to school. This is an anomaly. He usually goes to work straightaway but as he has to conduct a funeral today, he comes home to change his outfit and to look through the homily. I am elated to see him home. Lyn sits with An and me for a while before continuing with his work.
7.45 a.m. I have read all the books that An has chosen. I prepare her breakfast and sit with her while she eats. At the end of the meal, she has a coughing fit and throws up a little. Lyn helps to clean the floor while I clean An. After everything is in order again, I read and play with An.
9 a.m. I pack up and get ready to bring An to the Botanic Gardens, where I have arranged to meet a friend to celebrate her birthday. On other weeks when we do not have any appointments, An and I will go on short outings, which I enjoy and she seems to enjoy.
9.35 a.m. We arrive at Food for Thought and have breakfast with my friend. An plays for a while at the restaurant's playground before we take a short walk at the gardens. We leave at about 11 a.m. so that An can take a nap.
11.25 a.m. We are at home and I put An in her cot for her nap. Lyn has left the house by this time. I prepare An's lunch (porridge with spinach, broccoli, mushroom, fish and chicken) in five minutes and go back to the bedroom to peek at her. Oh no! She is sitting up and playing with her pillow. I decide to catalyse her falling asleep, as we need to pick J up from school in the afternoon and she usually naps for 1.5 hours. I do that by patting her. An is totally in dreamland by 11.40 a.m.
11.40 a.m. I have 1.5 hours to do the million things I have on my to-do list. I check my email and find that some students have submitted their assignment. I pack An's lunch after it is cooked into a thermos flask, as well as some books and toys for a playdate in the afternoon. I do some marking and write some maths questions for work. Time just flies by and I still have a million things to do.
 |
| This thick booklet is what I need to mark. |
1.10 p.m. An wakes up and I quickly whisk her off to J's school. Along the car ride, she gets a tad upset as she is unable to get her fruit snack out of its bag. When that is solved, I see her moving her legs to the rhythm of the piped in music.
1.25 p.m. Thankfully, the traffic is smooth and we arrive in J's school before the crowd streams out. When J meets us, I realise he is not as bubbly as usual. He usually smiles broadly and hugs his sister when he spots us. I find out about his day as we walk along. He did not feel well and had gone to the sick bay. Poor boy. As An has a playdate this afternoon, we eat out instead of going all the way home. I feed An her porridge while J eats his sandwich.
 |
| Photo credit: triplepundit.com |
2.40 p.m. I am shocked that we have taken such a long time to eat lunch. While driving to the venue for the playdate, J says he still feels unwell and needs to rest. Oh dear. I ask him if he can last an hour at my friend's place. He sensibly says that it is a difficult decision to make since my friend is expecting us. Finally, he says he thinks he really needs to go home. He calls my friend and tells her that we cannot make it for the date. We head for home instead.
3.10 p.m. We arrive home. J washes up and rests. I tell J to practise the piano after he rests. I discover that J's definition of rest means reading a book. Since it is a Friday, I allow him some indulgence. I read and do some activities with An ......
then let her play by herself while I take a short break.
4.30 p.m. An drinks milk while J reluctantly practises the piano. I become the Tiger Mum and tell him to practise a particular part till it sounds more fluent. How do other mums motivate their children to practise the piano, I wonder. After An finishes her milk, she practises scooting in our small living room and I pace up and down with her while dictating to J what he should play on the piano.
5.30 p.m. We go down to the playground to get some fresh air.
6 p.m. I cook pasta. The meal is ready by 6.25 p.m. Lyn is involved in the Alpha Course in church in the evening so he does not join us for dinner.
7.10 p.m. An and I finish our meal quickly, but J takes more time as he is distracted by a book again. By 7.10 p.m., he finishes and I wash the dishes before giving An a bath.
7.25 p.m. I read a Bible story to An and she falls asleep quite promptly. After that, J does his homework while I do more marking. (J normally has no homework, but as he was in the sick bay during Chinese class, he did not complete the given worksheet in school.)
 |
| This is one of An's favourite Bible stories. |
8.30 p.m. J says that he feels uncomfortable and needs to sleep. Usually, we memorise a Bible verse and read a story together before he sleeps, but as he feels unwell, we only memorise the verse. I feel sorry that we have to miss the story time because I enjoy reading with him.
8.40 p.m. J washes up and gets ready for bed. I pray with him. He starts chatting about school and his favourite game and I listen intently as this is when I find out most about him.
9.10 p.m. I am out of J's room and have my personal time. Activities during personal time range from ironing and packing the house to reading, marking, blogging and sleeping (Some nights I sleep at 9 plus). This night, I decide to forsake the work and instead chill out, read the news, go on Fb, follow up on my Bible reading plan and type this blog entry. Lyn comes back close to 11 p.m. and we talk for a while.
12.40 a.m. I complete this blog entry and am all ready to zzzzzz.....
______________________
This post is part of the Day in a Life blog train hosted by Mum in the Making. Click on the button to take a 24 hour peek into the lives of different mummies, or link up with your own post!
Next up on the blog train is Cindy.
Thanks to motherhood, Cindy got thrown into new challenges and pondered alot more about her 'self'- to the shock of many, she decided to take a leap of faith to pursue her writing passion. In the midst of self-discovery and learning how to be a mum, she chronicles memories to her blogazine, The Hooting Post, where she dishes out articles on parenthood, travelogues, culinary adventures and more!
Click on the link to read about Cindy's day.
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