General

 Here we cover topics that range from modesty to quiet times to self-discipline. IOW topics that don’t fit into the other categories!

Pregnancy & Labour

Pregnancy and Labour should not be viewed with horror and trepedition. Unfortunately we have heard too many horror stories and seen too many gory images on tv and movies to completely believe that it can be a wonderful time where we experience the hand of God and see Him work miracles .

We share with you our birth stories and hope you will be inspired and encouraged to know that our bodies have been made to conceive, birth and nourish a baby. And we are no longer under the curse of Eve, having been delivered from it by the wonderful act of Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead!

We gladly share our Birth Stories because we want to give glory to God through Jesus Christ!

Nursing

IMHO BREASTFEEDING is God’s gift to women for their God-given blessings. It is the only perfectly balanced and nutritious food a baby should have from birth. But I fully understand that over the years, many of us, doctors included, have been woefully misled about the importance of formula. Yes, formula has its place and there are some who should be thankful for it. BUT it is NOT the best food for babies. God blessed us, mothers, with human milk to feed our human babies!

Breastmilk is a living food item that changes with the needs and age of the baby. No matter how far medical science has advanced or will advance, it will never be able to match all the nutrients found in it. And the bond and specialness of a nursing relationship cannot be truly appreciated until one has experienced personally.

This section will share with you the common issues many women who want to breastfeed face. Blocked ducts, mastitis, the myth of no-milk, etc…will be covered here over time. It will encourage those who really want to make it work and those who find little or no supoort in their attempts to give their best to their child.

Why Do We Homeschool?

I was introduced to the concept of HS way back in 2000 while surfing the net. It sounded unreal – “What? Teach a child at home? Can it be done? How? Why? But I must say that it sounded really interesting & so I continued reading about it & became convinced that it is doable & not that frightening. Afterall, I did teach my son to speak & even read simple words before he turned 2. (Btw, he was a fast learner, I wasn’t pushing him as some have hinted at).

But still I sent our first born into nursery school at 21mths. It was a lovely Montessorri style school. He loved it! But after a while, his principal approached me & said that I should consider HS-ing him. I was taken aback. Why would a teacher say that? Shouldn’t she be pro-school? Ah! But she was an astute lady who has become a great friend today.

She’d noticed that he was very quick & learnt things very fast. He was way ahead of his peers in the academics arena. She said that he would be bored in a normal school. But we were expecting #3 & the thought of handling 3 small children & HS seemed impossible. So we did nothing!

But I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind. So I decided to pray about it. On 16th May 2002, I told the Lord that if he wanted us to HS our children, He must send a sign! Oh how presumptuous of me! I even told him how I wanted the sign to be – that I must be invited to a homeschool event in Singapore. At that point in time, I knew no one who HSed & definitely had not heard of any HS events in Singapore. So i thought – ha! I found a way to get out of this one! But the Lord, in his grace & mercy answered me according to my little faith!

That very Sunday, 19th May 2002, a friend whom I have not met for the past year appears in the Church nursery & asked if I would like to join her in attending a HS Fair!!! If I had not been sitting down on the floor, I would have fallen over! And so we went & I found out that there was actually a small support group for HS-ers here in Singapore! At that point in time it was mostly made up of expatriates.

But still I wavered. I still had a lot of questions – should I or should I not? Will I be biting off more than I can chew??? And a few selfish questions were thrown in as well – think of all the time I can have if I pack them all off to school!

5th July 2002 – while I was doing my QT, the Lord spoke to me very clearly through Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged for the LORD your GOD will be with you wherever you go.” Wow! I was confronted with the issue of obedience right smack in my face. Will I obey or not? God had already spoken. Will I then take God at His word that says He will be with me? Do I have the faith to trust God & just obey?

18th August 2002 – The Lord spoke again. This time through Heb 10:38 “But the righteous shall live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him” Yikes!

Then I found out I was expecting #4! Woah! It rocked us. I tried to ignore God’s call. So #1 continued to attend his pre-school & we even (oh ye of little faith!) put #2 in the same school! We thought that could buy us some time. Also at this point in time, dh though agreeable to HSing, was not really 100% convinced.

As the time approached for us to register our 1st born for primary school, I started to pray & think about HS more & more. Deep down, I knew I could do it, not because I am some supermum But it was a simple belief that if God has called me to do this, He will equip me. “His grace is sufficient for me. 2 Cor 12:9

Then I came upon an article (I can’t remember from which website) that said that HS-ing will not succeed if dad just went along with it. Dad had to be convinced that it is the way to take. Many HS-ers fail coz HSing was a path taken by mum with just a verbal endorsement from dad. That was not enough, the article said. Dad had to be the decision maker. Wow! I spoke with dh that very night. I said something to the effect of, “You have to decide. It doesn’t matter what you decide. I will go with it. I believe & see the value of HS-ing but I also see the “convenience” of public schooling. So either way, I am fine.” There! The ball was no longer in my court. What a relief! Now I understood why God put our husbands above us to protect & to guide us!

After much prayer, dh decided we will go for it. On 8th April 2004, we submitted our application for exemption from public schooling to MOE (Ministry of Education). On 28th April, 2004, we got our Certificate of Exemption! All MOE asked for was the name of the church we attended!

And so we embarked on our HS journey. In between all that excitement, we found out that #5 was on the way! What a ride! Oh! In case you were still wondering, we HS coz God told us to And we wanted to remember 1 Sam 15:22 “To obey is better than sacrifice.”

How Do I Manage Housework (Part 4)

For those who think that is cruel & I am exploiting the children, it is ok. We can agree to disagree. I never learnt how to keep house – didn’t have to. Mum did everything. And whatever she did, I seldom saw coz I was in school. When I got married & had to keep house, I bungled along. It was easy in the beginning coz there were only 2 of us & we were hardly home & never cooked.

Then when David came along – wow! I had to learn fast how to do everything at one go – look after the bb, clean the house & cook! Let me tell you – it was not fun.

I promised myself that my children will not have to learn the hard way like me. The earlier they learn how to manage & run a house, the easier it will be for them later on, whether they get married & have children or not.

To recap : Everyday – vacuuming. Mondays – Ironing. Tuesdays – Kitchen Stove & Sink. Fridays – Deep Cleaning.

So this is how everything (well, almost!) gets done here.

How Do I Manage Housework (Part 3)

Deep Cleaning – almost!

On Fridays, I do the whole hog – vacuum & mop downstairs (corridor, living room, study, kitchen, balcony) & upstairs (3 bedrooms) & wash all 3 toilets And I am done till next Friday.

Laundry

Laundry used to be done 2x/week when we had less people in the house. 1 load of light coloureds & 1 load of dark coloureds. But now, I do a load everyday, alternating between light colours & dark colours. But I still only iron once a week, on Mondays.

We only wash towels once a week. Our bodies are clean after our showers, right? So why the need to change the towels so often? PJs are changed twice a week. Our children seldom sweat in the night even without the use of airconditioning. But if they did or if they had accidents, then of course, we will change their PJs more regularly.

Clothes worn at home (home clothes) are changed everyday, of course. But dress clothes (outside clothes) are worn only when going out & then changed out of immediately upon reaching home & hung up. They must be worn at least twice (ie for 2 outings) before they are thown into the laundry basket to be washed.

Bedsheets & soft toys & blankets are washed once a month, unless accidents happen.

I try to wash our curtains every quarter. But the liklihood of that happening ia rare. Lol! Which reminds me that it is time to wash my curtains! It’s been 8mths since we moved in! Yikes!

Kitchen stove/sink/fridge & cabinet doors

Mess and/or oil splatters on the kitchen stove is supposed to be wiped everyday. A thorough cleaning is given every Tuesday. The sink is scrubbed every Tuesday too. Fridge & cabinet doors are given a wipe down by Sarah every Wednesday.

to be continued…

How I Manage Housework (Part 2)

Tidying/Picking up

We do pick ups every day (usually before bedtime unless the house is extremely messy). Each child has their own assigned area. I try to remember to switch them around after 3 months or so. Every item has a place of its own. If it doesn’t, it either gets thrown out or I create a space for it or I throw out something else.

De-cluttering is a constant exercise. I love it – very liberating! But I have friends who find it a painful exercise. For me, it reminds me to think very carefully before I make my purchases the next time!

Vacuuming

I vacuum every day now. I used to use the broom – less noise! But the dust & especially hair! is better caught with the vacuum. So in order to not disturb sleeping bbs & toddlers, I vacuum midday – after lunch, everyday except on Sundays. I will vacuum as thoroughly as I can – under sofas, lift up toys boxes, etc…ButI only vacuum daily like this for the living room, study, kitchen & balcony. The bedrooms are magic-mopped by David & Sarah. David does it on Mondays & Wednesdays, Sarah, Tuesdays & Thursdays.

Dusting

Dusting is taken care of by the 2 older children now. Before they helped, I almost never dusted! I only dusted when the dust was thick enough to form dust balls or when company was coming over. One thing about me – I cannot stand the feeling of dirt & dust on the floor but can most certainly overlook the dust on the shelves & table tops that I seldom visit in the course of the day.

Ideally, I would like to mop on alternate days & wash the most used toilets 2x/week but I can’t handle that kind of workload at this point in time. So I am waiting for when the children are able to be more useful helpers & train them to help out.

to be continued…

How Do I Manage Housework (Part 1)

Many have asked how I manage the household with 5 young children & no other help. I thought I would like to explain how I do it. How I managed the house has changed or evolved over the years as we have been blessed with more children & as the children have grown up. Also, we lived in a small 2-bedroom, 1,200sq ft house from child #1 to #4. We moved in to a much larger 4-bedroom, 1,500sq ft maisonette (split level) last December. The larger space forced me to do some adjustments to my routine.

If you are non-Singaporean & reading this, you may be puzzled as to why this is such a big deal  Well, most Singaporeans have either a live-in maid, a part-time maid (comes in 1 to 3 times per week) or parents/parents-in-laws helping out. To raise children, do housework & cook without any outside help is a rarity in Singapore. Throw in homeschooling to the mix & people just about fall flat on their faces wondering if you are some kind of a wonderwoman or a mad one 

When I had only 1 child, I would do all the housework & meal preparation when bb took his morning nap. When he had his afternoon nap, I would quickly prepare dinner & then jump into bed to nap too! Ah!!! those were the easy days!

Then we were blessed with #2. During that pregnancy, I had very bad backache even in the 1st trimester. Doing housework would put me out the entire day & a half! So things had to change. We got a helper who would come in once a week to do vacuuming & mopping of the entire house, dust & iron the clothes. I still handled the other daily household chores. This modus operandi continued with child #3. This new helper was a dear! She would clean my windows for me & even remind me to wash my curtains! Wow! But as the due date for bb #4 came along, she told me that she could only stay till end of May. I thought that was ok since Esther was due end of April, which meant that I had my 1 month of confinement to rest.

Esther of course decided that she wasn’t going to follow her supposed due date, arriving 5 days past her EDD. She arrived on a Thursday, and I was discharged from the hospital on Saturday. The helper usually comes on Tuesdays. So I thought – oh great! The house would be clean again soon. I was to be disappointed. The helper never turned up! And so I had to manage the 4 children & the house alonefrom that day on!

So I have been handling the chores & food & children fulltime since then (May 2003).

I discovered that self-discipline is such a blessing & being unable to function in a messy house another bonus.

to be continued….