My Story, His Grace: Day In A Life

I came across this blog train by Mum in the Making where each mother describes a typical day in her life. I found it so interesting that I couldn't stop reading the posts! I've never bothered to join any blog communities but I felt that I should somehow "return the favour" by writing one such post of my own. The last time I did a record of my day was back when my first-born was about a year old.

So here goes...

0600 hrs

My husband and I will wake up to our alarms. I will laze around in my bed while my loving husband gets my eldest boy to wake up and prepare for school. Hubby will get ready while kid no. 1 eats the sandwich I prepared the day before. The boy will then brush his teeth and change into his uniform.

0630 hrs

Hubby sends eldest up his school bus and goes off to work. End of my 'nua-ing' (lazing around) in bed. I will set the laundry load to wash, prepare breakfast table and bring frozen food out to thaw, followed by sweeping the floor minus the children's bedroom. I'll take the last chance to gulp down my morning milk with supplements before all hell break loose.

0730 hrs

The other three children wake up and make their beds. Now, this is when the war really begins. I have taken multitasking to a whole new level. Thankfully, my second-born can help to serve the breakfast food to the younger siblings to a certain extent so I have a little less to do. I will be sweeping and cleaning the children's bedroom, preparing the ingredients for cooking, bringing down the dry laundry, feeding the baby his breakfast and attending to the special requests or meltdowns of the three children in general; all at the same time!!! Don't ask me how I do it. By the grace of God, I will be zipping around the house at super-sonic speed accomplishing everything in record time. It is worse when there are spillages or accidental messes to clear...

Big sister serving cereal to the younger two.

0900 hrs

Already feeling exhausted though the day has just begun. After the children finish their breakfast, I will change the baby's diapers and usher all of them to their bedroom. I turn on the aircon and worship music and let them play by themselves in the room. I will then clear the table and start cooking both lunch and dinner in earnest. Of course, on good days, the kids only come into the kitchen on their way to the toilet and peer at what I'm doing curiously till I shoo them away. On bad days, I will be handling sibling disputes verbally while cooking at the same time. Many a time, I have to stop half-way to police the situation or handle emergencies.

What the girls made while at play:
Christ is the strength of our hearts!

1000 hrs

Finished all the cooking for the day. Start to hang up the freshly-washed laundry and fold and keep the clean and dry clothes. Prepare the milk for baby.

1030 hrs

Give baby milk and ask the girls to keep their toys. Prepare the room for nap-time and put Joram to bed while the girls change up by themselves. Finish up the last bit of washing.

Nap-time for the youngest

1100 hrs

The girls go up their school bus. They will have lunch in their kindergarten. I will then do a "rainbow dash" around the neighbourhood running errands and buying the groceries for the day while monitoring the napping baby using the surveillance camera. *sweat*

Spotted a Painted Jezebel
emerging from its cocoon
while waiting for the bus!

1230 hrs

Get home to unpack everything and prepare the fruits tea break for the kids. Finally, I'll have some time to sit down to have my lunch and spend some time with God through bible study and prayer.

1330 hrs

My kid no. 4 wakes up and I feed him his lunch and change his diapers. The eldest will come back at around 1.50pm from his school bus. I will play with the boys for a while before helping kid no. 1 with his schoolwork. (Though he is usually responsible enough to complete his own work and asks for my help only when he is stuck.) Sometimes, Joram becomes fussy and I will need to bring him downstairs for a walk while my P2 boy does his homework by himself at home.

Building an obstacle course
for his remote control car

1500 hrs

It's time to pick the girls up from the school bus and it's tea break for all the kids. I will need to feed baby his fruits. Kid no. 3 normally has trouble with drinking water so I can expect a battle over making her finish her water quota at around this time. I will also settle whatever parent's letter/forms/work that needs my signature. Depending on the day of the week, I'll be revising spelling or 听写 or preparing/rehearsing Show-and-Tells with the girls when they're done eating.

Fruits for tea break

1600 hrs

Clean up after tea break. My battery is normally flat by now. If I can still force out some "chakra", I will bring the kids down to the playground or bring them to the library. If not, I will spend some time doing something simple but meaningful for each kid before telling them to play by themselves while I collapse onto my bed for a nap to recharge. Of course, my nap is hardly uninterrupted as you can imagine with 4 rowdy children in a 3-room flat! Somewhere in the middle of it all, the baby will be asking for a bottle of milk.

One of the kid's creation
while at play

1730 hrs

Hubby should be back by now if there are no night engagements. Otherwise, I will continue to fly solo till the kids are in bed. The children will pack their toys while I reheat the food for dinner. Depending on Joram's "productivity", I might have to change his diapers again. Dinnertime is usually very stressful because Joram still needs me to feed him and Jaide requires a lot of help with getting the food she wants to eat. It is especially difficult now that Joram has reached the fussy eater stage. I really look forward to the day when the kids can all eat and take food by themselves so that we can enjoy and bond over the meal through delightful conversations... *wistful*

Typical dinner fare: 3 dishes with rice
(Sometimes 4 dishes)

1900 hrs

Clean up after dinner while the kids play quietly or read or draw. After I'm done with the washing up, it's time for showering and night toothbrushing. The older two can bathe on their own. Either hubby or I will bathe the younger two.

A drawing of one of our playground time

2000 hrs

Last 5 minutes of playtime for the kids while parents shower. Kids will do a final clean-up, packing up the remnant toys lying around. There'll be lots of tickling, hugs and kisses before bedtime prayers and lights-out for the kids.