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...I haven't dropped off the face of the earth  I, we, have been ... surprise, surprise...busy!
The only reason I have time to write anything today is because it is our Break Week!
Baby
So, what have we been busy with? Well, adding a new baby to the household adds on a lot more work than you think! How can someone so small generate so much work?! Lol! But it is definitely all worth it when she smiles her toothless smile at us and coo-es earnestly when you speak to her. Her siblings love her to bits! The 2yr old is very sweet, always telling me that she will look after her. We give thanks that there has been no sibling rivalry. It is indeed very sweet to see them watching out for each other.
Homeschooling
Then there is homeschooling. This is our 4th offical year in homeschooling. We school all-year round, taking a week-long break every 4 weeks. And our school year starts in August and ends in July. If we follow the Singapore school model, it means we have a P4, P2, K2, K1 and N1 this school year! But being more laid back than most moms here, those in pre-school level are doing very little compared to those in those expensive pre-schools :)
My challenge for homeschooling is not in giving work out for them to do. That's the easy part! Lol! My challenge is marking their work (Maths) and returning it to them on that very day so that corrections/explanations can be done before the next day's work is tackled. In order to achieve that goal I set, I have cut down my computer time a lot! I only turn on the laptop after dinner, in between bathing the younger children, reading to the toddler, packing up the house, etc.... Which means I am left with at most 2 hrs in total, to check email, do my research and work on the website. Realistically, it means that I have absolutely no time to work on the website or blog until we take our break.
Housework & Cooking
Well, laundry has definitely increased with the addition of the baby! I have also noticed that the house has become dustier with all the incense burning overtime during the Hungry Month “celebration”! My immediate neighbour, a very friendly and pleasant family, burns incense BIG TIME! And unless I keep our windows shut all the time, the smell and the ash comes into our home :( So I have been mopping twice a week instead of my usual once a week. Thankfully the baby is fully breastfed so there's been no change in the family meals – yet!
Ministry Commitments (*)
We praise God that dh has been getting lots and lots of opportunities to preach and teach. But that means that I have to hold the fort at home singlehandedly day and night. Most ministry engagements are at night and during the weekends so dh's increased workload means I just have to hold everything together from morning to night more often. One good thing that has come out of this is that it has forced me to be more creative and productive with my time.
On days when the baby cooperates and takes her evening nap when I have to bathe the 4 and 2 yr old and wash up the dinner dishes, all's fine. But usually (Murphy's Law!) she doesn't. So she'd be fussing (either wanting to nap but can't settle or wanting to be carried). Then you'd see me rushing to turn her baby mobile on (thank God she likes that – for now at least!) bathe 1 child-rush and rewind the baby mobile-rush back to bathe 2nd child-rush back again to rewind baby mobile-prepare her bath water- bathe her-then stop to take a breather. I often wonder what my blood pressure readings would be at that particular time of the night.
I know this mad rush can be eased if I do not bathe them at night. But that to me is a non-negotiable. In our hot and humid climate it is just plain yucky (to me) to send them to bed sticky and grimey. I know in cooler countries, children take a bath once or twice a week! In our family, we shower a minimum of twice a day (even the baby) – when they wake up and before bedtime. We do not sleep in air-conditioned rooms so there is some perspiration and smell emited during the night thus requiring the morning shower. Besides I used to work with someone who never showered before she came to work and we could smell her before we saw her! Eeks! I would like to instil a habit of personal hygiene now rather than later.
Most nights dh doesn't return home till 10:30pm or later. That is why I am very thankful that the older children have been taught to be very independent. I just need to tell them what to do and they can just do it with no hand-holding. Eg. Sometimes I have to nurse the baby at mealtimes, then the assigned meal helper will help the younger siblings, especially the 2yr old with their food (usually to get more food). When I had only 2 and 3 children, I used to have to nurse the baby at the dining table with one hand and dish out/cut up food for the other children with the other hand.
Priorities
All these activities make for a very full and busy schedule daily. And that is why I have not been updating my website nor blogging. In order to be productive and responsible, I have to prioritise. Which will be what I would like to write about next! 
(*) Find out more about our Ministry at
www.BroHenson.org
Visit my website at www.BuildingUpMoms.com for more articles
that support the Christian SAHM.
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Posted by Anonymous