Something that I used to do frequently. I was never an early riser but things changed after Emma came along. I still love to sleep. In fact, I love to sleep more than ever but I just never get to sleep past 8am these days.
Emma's an early bird! She usually wakes up at 7am sharp, sometimes a little earlier and the latest record was 7.45am. No, I'm not complaining as she has been sleeping well, goes to bed by 9pm and that's what we have trained her for.
However, the juggle between family, work and me-time is a real constant challenge. So, I'm really thankful to have a routine that works pretty well for us. As part of the blog train hosted by Justina from Mum in the Making, I'm glad to share how a typical good day for our family looks like.
While waiting for the soup to bubble, I boiled a kettle of water, brushed my teeth and drank a cup of water. Next, I lowered the stove fire and let the soup simmered before leaving the kitchen for my bath.
Rise & Shine
My "Quiet" Time
6.05 to 6.35am - Like a sleepy ninja, I checked on Emma before closing her room door gently. She's a light sleeper so I got be as quiet as I could if I want an extra hour of peace.
After a trip to the toilet, I started preparing soup (or porridge on some days) for dinner with my eyes half opened. It's our favourite - ABC soup! Check out more other soups here.
While waiting for the soup to bubble, I boiled a kettle of water, brushed my teeth and drank a cup of water. Next, I lowered the stove fire and let the soup simmered before leaving the kitchen for my bath.
6.35 to 6.45am - Time check before I stepped into the bathroom. I took a 10 mins hot shower - hair/body/face wash. Then, reminded myself to apply toner, eye cream and moisturizer. I can't decide if I don't like the sticky feeling or just being lazy!
6.45 to 6.55am - Out of the toilet, I picked up my bible (or sometimes iPhone for the bible app) before retreating to the walkway between the kitchen and dining area for a short bible reading (a chapter a day and I'm on Exodus now) and said a quick prayer for the day. I love sitting at the step rather than the sofa, chair or bed as that's where I get low and grounded.
Hubby finally woke up! I paused for a bit, looked up, waved and greeted him morning before he began his morning routine - toilet, breakfast, mobile games, bath and change.
6.55 to 7am - Two more things before Emma got up, I prepared a bottle of milk and packed her school bag.
Emma's Time
7 to 7.25am - It's finally time to wake up the sleeping baby.
With a gentle pat and cheery "good morning!", I woke Emma up and asked her to greet "妈妈早安". After lazing around for a bit, she finally stood up, greeted me and reached out for me to carry her out of the cot.
With a gentle pat and cheery "good morning!", I woke Emma up and asked her to greet "妈妈早安". After lazing around for a bit, she finally stood up, greeted me and reached out for me to carry her out of the cot.
She then greeted "爸爸早安” (word by word after me) before getting down on the playmat for her milk. She isn't the best drinker so we had a story book to entertain her.
After milk, she brushed her teeth and had diaper and uniform" change. Lastly, I turned off the stove fire and stored the soup in a heated thermal flask.
Prep for Work
7.25 to 7.35am - Now that Emma was all ready to get out, it was my turn to quick dry my hair, put on make up and change. Here's how I dressed up in 10 mins!
7.45 to 8am - Headed out and hit the road! It's usually between 7.35 to 7.50am, depending on how fast we were. Sometimes I change out of my dress a few times, someone had to rush for the toilet or Emma decided to be clingy and caused us to take a little longer.
We got on the car and said a short prayer for the family. Morning traffic was a little slow so it's about 15 mins to my office with long waiting at traffic lights. After kissing my 2 babies goodbye, I dropped off at the roadside while Hubby continued his journey to infant care and office.
Work Time
8 to 5.30pm (or 6pm on Mon-Thurs) - Hubby starts work at 8.30am too so it's either 25 mins bus ride + walking by myself or 30 mins ahead if he sends me. I certainly prefer the ride and enjoy the extra 30 mins before jumping into a busy day.
The day went by with emails, phonecalls, meetings and more emails. Friday is usually a busy workday as I need to get out a weekly email circulation. Thus, lunch was to the nearby food court, nothing too exciting.
Work days can get a little hectic but exciting at times. With many events and workshops going on, I get to work quite a bit outside the office.
Just over the last 2 weeks, we had 3 events, of which 1 happened at Sentosa, and a office move. Thankfully, things went well and I "survived" throughout the period.
I guess one of the perks for being a working mum in my current role is that I get to plan and manage my time, and to be as efficient as I could to get off work on time to spend time with my family. Having an understanding Boss helps as he is totally cool about me going back on time and taking leave to take care of Emma.
Work days can get a little hectic but exciting at times. With many events and workshops going on, I get to work quite a bit outside the office.
Just over the last 2 weeks, we had 3 events, of which 1 happened at Sentosa, and a office move. Thankfully, things went well and I "survived" throughout the period.
On good days and for sanity sake, I like to have some down time where I get to do random stuffs like take a tea break, read a devotion, listen to worship songs or check social media.
Time to Get Home
5.30 to 6pm - All done and called it a day! Like other weekdays, it would be around 6-6.10pm by the time Hubby fetch Emma and come by so I decided not to wait for him and took a bus instead.
Emma's Time
6 to 7pm - Back home and started cooking again! It's bee tai mak with some fishballs, tofu and broccoli to go along with the soup for the whole family. At around 6.20pm, Hubby and Emma came back with a sweet surprise! A handmade Mother's Day card! :) We then rested and played a while before dinner.
7 to 7.45pm - Dinner time! We got everyone ready at the table and said grace for dinner. Love it when Emma always said "Amen" loud and clear before her meals! While supervising Emma, we ate, chatted and joked. After her main course and soup, she asked for apples.
By the time she finished, her face, hair and shirt were a little stained so it's time for a quick shower and change.
7.45 to 8.30pm - In between dinner and her last feed, I gave her Scott's cod liver oil. She loves them and now learnt that she can only take 2 small teaspoons.
I had a break from planned learning activities for Emma and did random activities like playing, reading and colouring as things were little overwhelming at work and home.
Now that things are slowing down a little, it's time to get back our momentum. We stopped at Letter I and we should be starting Letter J soon!
I had a break from planned learning activities for Emma and did random activities like playing, reading and colouring as things were little overwhelming at work and home.
8.30 to 9pm - Night time routine includes her last bottle of milk, diaper change, brushing of teeth, prayer and songs. The 3 of us then went to her room and sat at her "prayer corner". It's funny to see how she sits down and get herself ready to pray like a big girl.
After the prayer, we ended off with kisses, family hugs and good night. Thereafter, Hubby took over and put her to bed. They continued with song - Jesus Loves you and lots of chuckles before the room became silent. I don't exactly know what time she sleeps as Hubby sometimes just stayed in and played his games but she usually takes 10-30 mins.
After the prayer, we ended off with kisses, family hugs and good night. Thereafter, Hubby took over and put her to bed. They continued with song - Jesus Loves you and lots of chuckles before the room became silent. I don't exactly know what time she sleeps as Hubby sometimes just stayed in and played his games but she usually takes 10-30 mins.
Housework & Me-Time
9 to 10pm - It has been a great help for Hubby to put Emma to bed as I get extra time to do more things. I tend to doze off till 10/11pm when she takes too long to sleep.
After I removed my make up and cleansed my face, I loaded the washing machine, tidied up the living hall, washed the dishes and then hung up the clothes. These are houseworks that I do daily. In between, I took a quick bath.
10 to 12am - Next, I usually do another housework/activity - It's ironing for the night. Other days, I would be folding clothes, mopping, washing the toilets, watching movie/tv shows, blogging, surfing net or doing art crafts. I picked up some books from the storage bed and hope to re-read a few good books.
Hubby got out of the room and loaded "Once a upon time" serial show on the TV while I set up the ironing board and iron for my "exercise". Yes, I stood up and iron while watching show. This went on for about 30-45 mins minutes before I finally got to rest my legs and enjoy another episode at the sofa.
However, that didn't last long. I love multitasking! So, I opened up my laptop and completed this post.
12am to 7am - What a long day, we finally turned in at around midnight! The next day was Saturday hence I rewarded myself and slept till 7am!
Hubby got out of the room and loaded "Once a upon time" serial show on the TV while I set up the ironing board and iron for my "exercise". Yes, I stood up and iron while watching show. This went on for about 30-45 mins minutes before I finally got to rest my legs and enjoy another episode at the sofa.
12am to 7am - What a long day, we finally turned in at around midnight! The next day was Saturday hence I rewarded myself and slept till 7am!
*****
Time with Emma is really short so I always treasure my time with her and look forward to the weekends! Yet, I am thankful that she is really close to the both of us, developing well and picking things up fast. From time to time, I always remind myself to do my best and trust God do the rest. We, parents, are her guardians in this lifetime and being a child of God, she will be well taken care of. As she gained greater independence, I pray that she will learn to be a faithful, healthy and obedient girl.
Surely, it's not by my own effort that I managed all these. I'm thankful for God's strength and wisdom to pull me through the days. Many times, I felt so exhausted but He just got me on. As for the times when I have lost a little of myself, He pulled me together. Besides, Hubby is also very supportive in many ways and cheers me on. I love that he likes to randomly pop up "thank you" and brightens my day. There are many times where I get frustrated and/or helpless but Hubby is always there to take over when I need some break.
*****
To all mummies, good job!! Let's press on together and cheer each other on!
Meantime, join me and many more mummies on this blog train! It's just inspiring to read about how mothers, whether is it full time working or stay at home or part time or work from home, take on their days.
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