Week in Life of a Blogger Mom - That's Me!

Sevens Days In A Week. What exactly is my schedule? Several friends have asked me how I manage parenting and blogging because I seem to fill my days with a lot of activities. More importantly, how do I keep sane? Frankly speaking, I shouldn't have the energy because Faye still wakes twice or thrice every night. Some mornings, I wake up wishing someone could wring me up like a towel. Give my aching body a good cracking.

I sure am glad we've got this topic going because I would like to find out for myself too [how I keep sane, that is]. I did not have an answer for them and after reading this post, I realise I fuel on my family's happiness and of course, blogging. It is often misunderstood that blogging is easy. This is by far one of the most time-consuming blog post to craft. Not only do I need to put some time aside every day just to write about that day's on-goings, photography and photo-editing takes a huge role in every one of my post as well. With so much effort put into my writings, the best reward is that they have inspired/benefitted my readers one way or another. Sure, we are a tad more privileged from all those media invitations but do not be misled that Mom Bloggers are capable of earning a living to contribute substantially to the household income. The majority of us are writing out of passion. Passion for family and for love.

Now let's see what the past week had been like:

Monday, 28 March 2016

Monday mornings are house-cleaning days for me. I came to realise that I am not the only mom who has this dining-table-mess by the end of each week. Not only that. The living room, play room and not even under the bed are not spared of chaos. I do not like to pick up after my children over the weekend and will leave toys sprawled all over the house until everyone goes to school/work on Monday. I am not spending another minute doing household chores over the weekend, which is dedicated to family time. As long as I do not have to hop through pockets of naked floor, I'm fine really. Our part-time helper comes every Monday as well and while she cleans the house and irons our clothes, I pack the house and put away the folded laundry into their respective places. Tag-team.

I've scheduled myself rather tightly today. After I was done with my household chores, I factored in  blogging time and dinner recipe research before I got myself ready for my lunch date. This is the privilege of being a SAHM with half a day's free time. Ever since both kids started half-day school, I finally get to socialise beyond Facebook and Instagram! I count my blessings to be living next to a train station. It makes going out so much easier really but still, I couldn't tear away from my smartphone. I had to read my emails, check on Instagram and Facebook on top of reading quick Singapore news online. It's crazy I know and I endeavour to slow down a little. With my lunch date settled at Holland Village, I also ran into Cold Storage to grab some groceries for dinner. Pushing myself a little too thin but glad I made full use of my Monday morning before I pick the children up.

As the children's school is accessible only by car, I usually get to them with a taxi. Ewan will always ask me, "What colour is it today? Yellow or Blue?" I don't know about you but I can never get my children buckled up in a taxi without a child seat. They will either be standing or wriggling about. Sometimes sitting on the floor of the car and sometimes lying on my lap. But most of the time, Faye will be fighting with me in the taxi because she wants to be nursed... and I will always tell her to wait till we get home. That's when she start screaming. All the way home. I pity my drivers. So I came up with tactics like talking about school, reading storybooks and playing games. As long as I keep my stand, she will learn that milk will have to wait till we get home. Tough luck.

Tiredness leads to Tantrums. Tantrums lead to Crying. Crying drains the Mommy and she will discipline with the most frightening measure - the cane. These two little ones came home and fought. Faye was playing with Bandaids and she didn't allow her brother to touch it even when he asked. He was not happy and provoked her by snatching one away. That led to an unconsolable Faye and I had enough. I brought the cane into the room which resulted in an exhausting conversation with them both on sharing and asking without snatching.

They woke up refreshed and happy. As if nothing happened before they took their nap. The bliss of being children. We went for an evening swim at the pool. Ewan has swim class every Monday and I will always bring Faye along. If they could, they will never want to leave the pool but I have to cook dinner don't I?

Dinner's a success tonight! I am an amateur cook and am always disappointed with what I can come up with. Just last week, I spoilt our dinner by mistaking salt for sugar! Imagine that! However, I love what I prepared tonight and was finally proud enough to photograph my creation. Only thing was, I realised I did not include any vegetables except mushrooms! I've got to work on a better balanced diet next time.

We put the children to bed and rounded up our night with we time.

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

Our getting-the-kids-ready-for-school routine is something like this:

daddy wakes before everyone - daddy exercises - daddy makes milk - daddy prepares water bottles - daddy packs school bags - daddy wakes Ewan - mommy gets woken up by all the ruckus created by the boys - mommy drags herself out of bed - Ewan greets mommy with the sweetest Hello - mommy/daddy showers and gets Ewan ready - daddy gets himself ready - Faye awakens - mommy showers and gets Faye ready - the children get their vitamins - if time permits, include some play or story-telling - daddy sends the children to school

All within an hour. Thanks to him, I get a little bit more sleep from insufficient rest every night.

Right after saying my goodbyes to the children at the carpark, I went back home and got down to packing the boys' luggage. Meyer is bringing Ewan to Langkawi for a holiday tomorrow and I am very excited for them! It will be their first father and son trip [I did my mother and daughter trip a long time ago when Faye was six months old] and I just had to make sure this duo have everything they need while on a trip without mommy.

There was still a whole morning waiting for me after the packing. The benefits of waking early ay? I blogged through my breakfast and lunch on an overdue piece I needed to hand in for a company. Yet, I couldn't complete it still. Blogging isn't just typing a few shallow paragraphs and allowing it to go live without any substance or value. When you read a review, it probably takes you only five minutes. What you didn't know is, it takes six hours to craft a review out like this [The Heguru Method: for Faye]. Furthermore, these man hours are written over a few days because Stay At Home Mom Bloggers have duties like replying to emails, negotiating collaborations, attending to children and husband besides household chores. Writing a blog post is not just in-a-day's work. Well, not for me at least.

Nap time is between 1400 to 1700 hours. That doesn't mean I have three hours of Free Time because Faye wakes at the 60 minute mark, Ewan wakes at the 90 minute mark then Faye wakes again at the 100 minute mark... I stay by their sides in the room to put them back to sleep repeatedly.

They woke up to craft work! I decided to get them to work on a birthday card for daddy dearest. Hid it into one of the pages of Ewan's story book that is packed into his Trunki for Langkawi. Perfect surprise for daddy! He will be smiling from ear to ear when the card drops out of the book he was about to read his son. I repeatedly reminded Ewan that this is Top Secret! No letting the cat out of the bag when he sees daddy. As soon as daddy came home, he had forgotten. "DADDY DADDY! I have a surprise for you in that book!" AAAAAhhhHHHHHhh!

I wanted a birthday dinner date with my husband and so the kids were dropped off at my father's. We went out for a quick two hour dinner and a cake session. Then came home to settle the children into bed. What did Meyer wish for? To strike toto on 31st of March 2016! S$2 million he said. *grins* [edit: 3 April 2016 and No Win]

After the kids turned in for the night, I continued working on my blog. With the brain energised at 12 midnight, it is hard to get to sleep and so I caught up with old dramas on Toggle which got me watching one episode after another until 0300 hours...

Wednesday, 30 March 2016

Daddy and son are off for an early morning flight! I had to be up at 0630 hours to get Ewan ready.  Faye and I walked the boys to grab a taxi to the airport. Ewan was skipping and squealing at the same time. Absolutely excited about sitting in an aeroplane. He hugged his sister and gave her many High-Fives. Faye thought it was fun and was laughing with him until she saw her father and brother board a taxi. I had to pacify a crying toddler thereafter while getting her ready for school at the same time. Nothing a little suckle wouldn't do,

I technically only had 3.5 hours of sleep. Two late nights in a row had me crashed in bed the whole morning after sending every one off. As much as I wanted to work on my computer, I couldn't function with a cough that came with insufficient rest.

So! I lazed in bed till 11-nish and went to the kitchen to prepare a quick one-pot lunch. I have to reiterate this: the biggest luxury for a SAHM is to eat her meals in peace. To be able to chew, savour and swallow without a rush.

I whisked Faye from school and into bed within 30 minutes. While she slept, I sat beside her with my trusted laptop and continued with my work - replying emails, writing another unfinished piece of blog post, Facebooking and Instagamming. Unfortunately, I do not get much done because she wakes pretty often from her nap and I am obligated to nurse her back to sleep. Soon after she woke, we read a good number of books as per request.

I thought about Meyer and Ewan in Langkawi enjoying the sun, sand and sea. With a car at home now that the husband is out of town, I thought I should make full use of it. I told Faye we should take the chance to go on a daughter and mother date as well! A joyride in the skies would be fun. Cable Car! Besides, we've got the Faber License membership which will see us through a year of unlimited rides.

Soon after dinner and shower, I got Faye to retire early at 2030 hours and I enjoyed a good four hours of uninterrupted me time to myself. What did I do? I blogged again. I blogged about this post which is due to publish on 5th of April 2016. #weekinalifeofabloggingmom

Thursday, 31 March 2016

Happy 35th Birthday Meyer! I woke up to this message, "Your son woke up missing you mom". Oh how sweet but I hadn't expected that from Ewan actually and thought he wouldn't want to come home from a no-rules holiday with dad.

Without any time constraints this morning [usually the children are out of the house by 0800 hours because daddy needs to get to work], I allowed Faye and myself to wake naturally. It turned out we didn't wake too late either and left the house at 0800 hours as usual. I am loving this mother and daughter time. Lots of laughter, no sibling fights, no squabbles and just a whole lot of mutual understanding. I came right home to breakfast, kept the laundry, wrote part of my blog and of course, took my lunch before our handover meeting.

Today, we are taking back the keys to our home. We've rented it out for two years now and it is time we moved back with the children. It felt great actually though there was a tinge of nervousness during the handover procedure. It is the home where both children were conceived. The home that saw me through my first two years of parenting and the home that we put in so much effort accessorising. I really cannot wait to move back.

I rushed straight to pre-school to bring Faye home right after. At nap time today, she did not want me to go. I had to lie down next to her for as long as she slept. Hours! I should have napped with her instead but I worked on emails, social media and Tsum Tsum on my mobile. Ahh silly mommy. Nap next time!

We engaged ourselves in some packing after she woke. I was motivated to start filling up the boxes and engaging Faye was the cutest mom-and-child activity ever! She did not exactly pack them nicely into the boxes but emptied the drawers nevertheless. Good enough help for me! I gave her a snack break and went on to my second box. She played with her toys and suddenly sat on the floor and cried. I do not always pick crying kids immediately but she looked quite miserable and as soon as I hugged her, she vomited over my shoulder. Oh poor darling! Whatever happened? I spent the rest of the evening cleaning everything up [including us] and whisked us off to dinner at the in-laws. Not to the doctor's ya but to the in-laws. I make an effort to keep to our dinner dates with the paternal grandparents even if Meyer was not in town. The least I can do for them is to allow play time with the kids. Besides, her doctor was fully booked for the night and dinner with them is better than me having to cook after such an evening.

Faye had a very early night because she was spent from the vomiting episode earlier. At 1930 hours, she announced, "Mommy? Sleep." and so I put her into bed. I busied myself with packing thereafter. I only had enough energy for that unfinished second box earlier though and went on to work on the blog and Instagram again.

Friday, 1 April 2016

Faye had 11 hours of sleep and I was over the moon! Talk about things that make moms happy. She woke up energetic and I brought her to school. Super glad that it was just an one-off episode. I suspect she got choked by something she put in her mouth yesterday. Nevertheless, I still made a 1015 hours doctor's appointment just in case she wasn't feeling that good. Thankfully, we never did have to turn up for that consultation.

I came home and got straight to packing. Oh no wait. I ate my breakfast, cleared all our snail mails [which were accumulated from our rented unit the past two years!] and blogged a little before I commence packaging once again. This morning, I achieved five boxes. Wished I could do more but it was time to pick Faye from school already.

Today, I took Faye out from school earlier than usual so that we can pick Ewan and Daddy from the airport. How exciting! Just indulge in this heartwarming clip won't you?

We lunched at the airport before going home for that afternoon nap. It is funny how very much Ewan had missed me while he was away. So much that he cried four times on Day One in Langkawi for mommy. Yet, when he woke from his nap and couldn't see daddy next to him today, he cried uncontrollably [daddy went for an impromptu business meeting]. Playgrounds usually perk him up but the whole time at the playground, I saw only a glum face. He sat alone, looked forlorn, and whispered, "I want daddy." Well, mommy has to do what mommy do best! Come up with the funniest jokes or face just to make him laugh again. Though I must admit, it was pretty tough to get him to smile.

Dinner is at the in-laws again tonight! Why of course. They haven't seen Ewan and Meyer for four days already, surely there will be a welcome home dinner. [I know many families see their parents or in-laws probably only once a week for a meal but we usually meet up on alternate days. So four days is a long while for everyone.] We had lamb, beef, pork, fishcake, lagsane, soup and the list goes on! It was a feast.

Daddy is home! Which meant, lights-out are not going to be 2000 hours any more. The children love to sit with daddy with a few books and giggle with him through rough play. By the time we put them to sleep, it was already 2200 hours. Daddy and I both had a zapped out Friday. We knocked out with the children and had a restful night.

Saturday, 2 April 2016

Our Saturdays are usually fun-filled. Sometimes, we have to reject an invitation or two because we are that popular! *hahaha* Just kidding! Ah but today.. it seems like a very popular day for events. It's the children's pre-school's family day and we were looking forward to join them at Port of Lost Wonder! Yet, the timing clashes with Isabella's first birthday party. She is the daughter of a dear friend whom we wouldn't miss the world for.

We woke up to a lazy start without any breakfast plans. That got us with cards and tea sets, building blocks and what nots. The children laughed, fought and cried. This is typical of any day actually. It's not always happy and sunny really. I promise you, I ain't here to paint you false hopes about parenthood. We had to struggle to get the children into the shower room. We had to struggle for them to do this and that. Yet, one thing I never bothered to do on weekends is to get them to clean up their toys. As mentioned way up front, I clean the house up only on Mondays. Let's just play out our weekends to the fullest. Why don't we.

When we finally got ourselves out of the house, we went for Bah Chor Mee and Fishballs for breakfast. Fishballs are their favourite and I know it sounds weird to have it for breakfast but hey! Whatever gets them seated and finish their meals on their own right? They couldn't spare daddy today though. Both insisted that daddy put them into their car seat, take them out of the car and carried them everywhere thereafter. When daddy tried to refuse, they whined. So how? Daddy lost.

We ran some errands after breakfast and just before we got home to change into our formal wears, Faye fell asleep. Great. We decided to let her rest and took turns to stay in the car while the other party headed home to make ourselves up. The boys went up together and came down looking rather spiffy. It was my turn to go but when they opened the car door, the little girl gave out an irritable cry. I had to bring Faye up to change and that's quite alright too! At least I do not have to bring her clothes to Raffles Hotel for the change.

Wrong!

Not good at all! She was cranky and wouldn't let me put her down. Imagine this. I had to choose a dress, wear it, make up, put on accessories, bring along the birthday gift [we were going to attend a birthday] and of course, get her ready at the same time without letting her go. I declare me a super mom! With Faye on one side of my hip, I chose a yellow dress which she said "No" to. I put that back and chose another. I reckon I've chosen five other dresses which she said "No" to and eventually settled on that same yellow dress I've decided on in the first place. Come On Baby! Don't dictate my already dictated life will you? I put on my dress with her crying in protest. So I had to calm this girl down because my to-do list is still far from done. We had a 1200 hours party and it was already 1130 hours. I carried her to the toilet and sat her on the vanity table, shoving her all my make-up tools! While I made myself up, I gave her the blusher to blush her cheeks and there. That got her quiet. Cut the story short [it is a terribly long story], we managed to get into the car 30 minutes later with her crying again because she didn't want to wear the dress I chose for her. I am so afraid of that teen she will grow into.

We let the children play past their naps because they were having so much fun [and so was I]. We still had to leave eventually because we had a 1700 hours appointment to keep. We have a date at Timbre@Gillman with Summer [A Happy Mum] and family! By the time we got home and had the children in bed, it was already 1600 hours. We were not going to make it in time for the dinner date and so, a quick sms found us both stuck in similar situations. Our children are all still napping.

So, we arrived for dinner only at 1800 hours. WHAT A NIGHT! Our children probably had the best time of their lives! Well, so did the parents actually. We get to eat in peace while our little ones played to their hearts content at the Saturday Social BBQ themed event. More on a separate blog on our experience but this is the place where you can eat, drink, chill, play and probably see your kids up on stage with a Live Band singing away to "Let It Go". Talking about a more family-friendly restaurant!

The children knocked out only at 2230 hours because we stayed out too late. As much as we parents were tired, there are still dishes in the sink to wash and laundry to be transferred to the dryer. The daddy fell ill but he did not want to waste the night with sleep and had gone to be a couch potato instead. Where does that leave me? I propped my pillow on my lap in bed, turned the air-conditioned on and blogged about our Saturday for this post.

Off to sorting out my pictures on the computer now! - signing off from the blog at 0000 hours 

Sunday, 3 April 2016

Daddy woke up very ill. Fever, chills, diarrhoea and feeling nauseous. So we left him out of our Sunday activities and gave him the time he needed to rest.

We usually have our breakfasts outside on weekends. Only this time, it's just the children and mommy. Ewan has a make-up class at Heguru this morning so, I decided to bring them for breakfast at Fusionopolis. They are not big fans of Starbucks and Ya Kun. So, I came up with this grand idea of buying buns and sitting on the loungers to while time away. It will be a bonus if there was a pianist to entertain us on the Play Me I'm Yours piano project as we eat. True enough, we had a 10 year old boy who gave us the most beautiful music we've ever heard! Ewan was bobbing his head away and Faye was evidently happy with this breakfast arrangement.

As there was still a bit more time before Heguru starts, the children played together at the reception area. I planned to do some marketing at the Cold Storage downstairs because we needed some top-ups on home essentials. A quick browse and I ended up with only a packet of Panadol Flu and a loaf of bread for daddy. I decided to shop at Giant that evening to save up on costs. There are a lot more bundle discounts at Giant and I could save a lot more! It is obviously more troublesome but Aunty mode kicked in. Do whatever to save some dollars and cents!

I whisked the children home after Heguru to prepare lunch for everyone. Usual Sunday lunches are also taken outside in a restaurant or cafe but with daddy not being home, I decided to join him instead.

After the children woke from their naps, I brought them to Giant for grocery shopping as planned. Woah! Almost every diaper brand is on sale. I had to whip out my calculator to determine which is the best buy per diaper piece! Cannot believe this is coming from me right? *haha* Well, 能省着省 [save what you can].

It is difficult to keep two active children in the trolley for an extended length of time. By the time we got to the cashier in a very long queue, Faye wanted out. I tried my best to contain her but to no avail. Ewan and Faye was let loose and they burrowed their faces at the magazine rack next to the cashier. Right after I unloaded my shopping on the conveyor belt [which was only a couple of seconds], Faye went out of my sight. She ran away in search of the lollipops she saw earlier. Gosh. How daring. Thankfully a fellow shopper in line went to get her back on my behalf. I was flustered for a second. I decided to carry her in my arms while paying for my groceries thereafter. After I was done, I turned around to find Ewan gone. What a failure as a mom! Nearly lost two children at one supermarket visit? He ran off to the kiddy rides without seeking my permission. I was furious and decided to give him a big talking to. I gave them each a packet of raisins thereafter and they were contented to sit back into the trolley. I should have known. TIP: Keep Snacks In The Bag!

Bringing out two children alone is not a big feat really. You just have to take that first courageous step and everything after will fall in place. You will learn [like I did about disappearing children this time - my first time] how to manage a similar situation better in the future. You will learn how to multi-task and be innovative when both children want to use the toilet concurrently. You will learn that You Are More Capable Than You Think You Are if you just try.

I have the most giving in-laws ever. Not only that, they are always thinking ahead for our convenience. Knowing that Meyer is sick, my mother-in-law offered to cook dinner for us. They arrived at our place before me. I had one, two, three.... six bags of groceries to carry, with two packets of diapers and erm... two children. They obviously didn't know I bought that much but my father-in-law sent me a text message saying,

"Let me know when you are at the carpark. 

I'll come and help you."

Love or what! I hope I can be as thoughtful an in-law as they are when my turn comes.

Every mom spends their time differently yet we all share the same thing - Time. We have only 24 hours a day. How fulfilling each day pans out depends on how we spend this time. Happy Birthday Mommy. You would have been 64 years old today. I wonder what you would have made out of this mom I've become.

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This post is part of a link-up with other Singapore Parent Bloggers to share a week in the life of a blogging mum and dad. You can peek into the life of 29 other families over at Week In Life of Blogging Mum and Dad linkup here.

Next up on the blog train is Candice from Missus Tay's Journal. A mom of two preschoolers and a wife to a loving husband, Candice keeps a journal of their every-other-day happenings on her blog. On most days, however, she is on instagram!

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