autumn routine
Since my last update on our summer routine a couple of months ago, our typical weekday has changed quite a bit, so I thought I'd record it for posterity. My weekdays are mundane but time seems to fly by, especially in the middle of the week when I'm busy with playgroup and taking the kids places. Now that our second car has arrived, there's more flexibility and freedom for me to go out. I'm planning to buy a good GPS for the car so that I can go more places!
If I don't go out, then this is one of our typical days.
6am - 7am: Bao wakes up. If she wakes earlier than this and won't settle back down to sleep by herself, I take the lazy way out and just give her a bottle of milk and it usually does the trick - she'll go right back to sleep, usually till later if we're lucky. So we often pull this trick on weekends when J and I want to sleep in a little bit.
7am: bring Bao into the bed with J and I so that we can snooze for just a bit longer. She is used to sleeping with a small duck blankie and will often go into what J and I called the 'duckie trance', holding it in both hands and rubbing it against her face. Although she doesn't fall asleep in our bed, her duckie trance keeps her quiet and still so we can enjoy a snooze. This is technically my wake-up time on school mornings but if J is driving The Bun to school I usually laze a bit because I don't need the extra time to get dressed, have my breakfast, etc. All that can wait till The Bun leaves the apartment.
7.15am: on playgroup mornings when I leave the apartment early, I eat breakfast alone and get a headstart packing The Bun's lunchbox. I do as much prep as I can the night before so that all I usually need to do is assemble his sandwich. During this time, J is changing Bao's diaper and getting her dressed.
7.30am: Wake-up time for The Bun. I usually oversee getting dressed, toothbrushing etc because if left to his own devices he wouldn't do it or would do a half-baked job. Bao is very eager to see her brother in the morning so I have discovered that she is actually good at waking him up. She will stand right next to his bed and poke him and squawk 'Kaka!' (i.e. Korkor). While The Bun gets dressed, J takes Bao to the kitchen and starts their breakfast.
7.45am: The Bun starts breakfast, usually milk and cereal or bread with a chocolate spread, and some cheese or yogurt. On some mornings I have to put a little clock in front of him so that he knows how much time is left until 'the big hand reaches 12'. Otherwise he just dawdles endlessly even though his breakfast isn't much. There is technically thirty minutes left before he has to leave for school but because of how much he dawdles, we have to add in loads of buffer time for last-minute toilet visits, struggling to get his coat on, etc.
8.15am: Leave for school. Generally it's a 15 minute drive, but extra time is needed to load kids into carseats, etc. When winter comes we'll need to have buffer time for scraping ice off, warming up the car, etc.
8.40am: Walk The Bun into his classroom, chat a bit to his teacher, and leave. I'm glad he's now able to walk in and settle into class without whining or tears. If J is doing the school run, at this time at home I'd usually be cleaning up the breakfast hurricane and maybe starting a load of laundry while Bao plays in the playroom. In the morning she is usually quite happy to play on her own so I get as many chores in as I can. I also occasionally Skype conference chat with a couple of friends at this time because we are located in three different countries and this is the best timing that fits all of us.
9.40am: If I'm home in the mornings I usually watch a show on TV called Dinner Date. Three blind dates cook for a man or woman who comes to their home for a three-course dinner. At the end of all three dates the contestant picks a winner and takes him or her out for a second date at a restaurant. It's pretty mindless entertainment but I like it because of all the different types of people they feature on the show and their varying abilities in the kitchen.
11am: Bao takes her morning nap, usually to about 1230pm - 1pm. I usually tackle the chores (e.g. ironing) that I can't do without her being underfoot.
12pm: have my lunch - sometimes a sandwich, or reheated leftovers, or a simple pasta. Read or surf the web - this is my downtime. Sometimes J will drive home for lunch, and if so then I will cook or put something simple together.
1pm: Bao wakes. Since she doesn't have lunch till a bit later I usually walk to our neighbourhood supermarket with her at this time because it's warmer than going in the mornings.
1.45pm: Bao has her lunch. We often video skype with my parents at this time since it's their leisure hour in Singapore (8.30pm) and Bao is sitting still in her high chair.
2pm: After she finishes lunch I leave her in her high chair while I start prep for dinner - chopping veggies, marinating meats, etc. The high chair is in the kitchen near me so I can supervise her. If they are on skype, my parents entertain her; otherwise, I give her some snacks or her sippy cup which buys me some time to do my stuff. Today she surprised me by eating most of a raw French bean I gave her. Otherwise, I put her down to explore the kitchen while I finish my work.
2.45pm: drive to The Bun's school. Even though he gets off at 3.20pm (except on Wednesdays, when it's a half-day), I like to arrive early to get a good parking spot. Bao enjoys toddling around the playground and watching the older kids, and I sometimes get to chat with a few other carers.
3.45pm: return home, get a snack for The Bun, and give Bao a bottle of milk. I also try to get her to nap, but recently it's been getting harder and harder and I'm guessing she may soon be dropping one nap. Even if she does eventually nap, I have to make sure it doesn't last for more than 30 - 45mins otherwise bedtime will be impossible. The Bun is usually entertaining himself at this point - he has an alloted 30mins on the iPad (school days only) and then just relaxes in his room or plays a bit.
5.15pm: J gets home from work. I start dinner while J plays with the kids. Sometimes The Bun will bring his school-assigned reading book or his reading/writing worksheets to the kitchen table to work alongside me as I cook. Since I did so much prep work in the afternoon, dinner is usually quickly assembled. I usually try to grab a quick shower once I finish the cooking.
6pm: dinner is served and we all eat together. The Bun feeds himself and chatters nonstop. J or I take turns to feed Bao but otherwise she is quite proficient at self-feeding and she eats whatever we're having with much gusto. I no longer cook baby food for her because she copes well eating rice or pasta, chicken, fish, stir-fried veggies and the like, and since so many of our meals are homecooked I'm quite comfortable with her eating table food because I know it's healthy enough. After dinner we usually have fruit, sometimes yogurt, and as a treat sometimes cake or ice-cream. We very rarely eat out on school nights.
6.30pm: dinner is over and the kids play while J and I clean up - it's usually not too bad because when I cook, I clean as I go so there's never a huge mess to tackle. J has his shower around this time.
6.45pm: kids' bath, both in at the same time, one parent to each. When I'm alone at night I still plonk the both of them in and wash one of them at a time. After bath everyone gets dressed in the master bedroom because we've got the portable heater going and the room is warm enough to dress in. The Bun dresses himself while J tackles Bao; I clean up the bathroom and tie up all the household trash.
7pm: storytime in The Bun's bedroom. Usually we read a book that he brings home from school daily, and in the past week these have been very simple and short books that he reads aloud with some help from me. Then we have two books that I read. Bao used to just wander around the room emptying The Bun's book baskets and trying to play with his toys, but these days she has been showing more interest in the books.
7.15pm: one last bathroom trip for The Bun and then the four of us sit in his room discussing the nice things that happened that day. J then takes Bao to the master bedroom for her last bottle of the night and to put her to bed, while I snuggle in the dark with The Bun and just chat with him.
7.30pm: on good nights, both kids are fast asleep. Otherwise, the latest they are asleep is 8 - 8.30pm.
8pm onwards: I put away the dinner dishes from the drying rack and prep for breakfast by laying out plates, breakfast foods, teabags, etc for the next morning because it saves so much time that way. I also do lunchbox prep at this time and make notes in The Bun's reading notebook for his teachers. J catches up on work, I surf the web or write long rambly posts like this one, we watch TV, have wine, and generally decompress.
11pm - midnight: bedtime for the adults.
===================================
Nothing fascinating, really, although I'm still quite boggled by the fact that the kids are asleep so early when in Singapore, we would still be finishing up dinner! I guess it helps that there's not much of a nightlife in Geneva and what nightlife there is, is very expensive. (A mother at playgroup today told me about her CHF40 cocktail at the Four Seasons. Like really!) Babysitters cost about CHF30 and up per hour and need to work at least 3 hours to make it worth their while, so if you calculate how much a night out would cost, I'd rather spend my money on an expensive bottle of wine and enjoy myself at home.
There's also a whole bunch of school things that I have to keep track of: Tuesdays there's PE, Wednesdays is half-day, Thursday is dance and library, Friday is welly-walk (the kids clomp around the woods in the afternoon) and I try to remember to get him to take his PE bag home on Fridays so that I can wash his PE clothes.
On Wednesdays when The Bun is on half-days in school, he will come home for lunch (usually pizza since that's quick, easy and readily eaten by the kids) and then we will try to go out a bit in the afternoon - spend an hour in the playground, or go to the supermarket, drop off the recycling, etc. If it's rainy then he stays in and plays with his sister.
Our lifestyle here is quite clearly different from when we lived in Singapore. Weekends are spent outdoors as much as possible unless the weather is bad. The shopping malls are very underwhelming and the selection very limited so there's no real fun in window shopping here. We go to supermarkets a lot since we cook so much and our fridge is a typical Swiss size (= small) and needs to be restocked often. Laundry is a constant because the washer is also typically Swiss-sized (= small). J mentioned today that on a good day in Singapore, he gets home from work at 6.30pm, whereas at the same timing here he's just about to shower and get everyone ready to bed down for the night.
I sometimes wonder what life will be like when we eventually return to Singapore but that's not something I need to think about for a long time more. Plus the kids will be a bit older, so moving them back will be totally different from when we moved them here. I guess that's why I like to record these routines, which all seem so mundane right now, but will be good to read when I look back months and years ahead from now.
If I don't go out, then this is one of our typical days.
6am - 7am: Bao wakes up. If she wakes earlier than this and won't settle back down to sleep by herself, I take the lazy way out and just give her a bottle of milk and it usually does the trick - she'll go right back to sleep, usually till later if we're lucky. So we often pull this trick on weekends when J and I want to sleep in a little bit.
7am: bring Bao into the bed with J and I so that we can snooze for just a bit longer. She is used to sleeping with a small duck blankie and will often go into what J and I called the 'duckie trance', holding it in both hands and rubbing it against her face. Although she doesn't fall asleep in our bed, her duckie trance keeps her quiet and still so we can enjoy a snooze. This is technically my wake-up time on school mornings but if J is driving The Bun to school I usually laze a bit because I don't need the extra time to get dressed, have my breakfast, etc. All that can wait till The Bun leaves the apartment.
7.15am: on playgroup mornings when I leave the apartment early, I eat breakfast alone and get a headstart packing The Bun's lunchbox. I do as much prep as I can the night before so that all I usually need to do is assemble his sandwich. During this time, J is changing Bao's diaper and getting her dressed.
7.30am: Wake-up time for The Bun. I usually oversee getting dressed, toothbrushing etc because if left to his own devices he wouldn't do it or would do a half-baked job. Bao is very eager to see her brother in the morning so I have discovered that she is actually good at waking him up. She will stand right next to his bed and poke him and squawk 'Kaka!' (i.e. Korkor). While The Bun gets dressed, J takes Bao to the kitchen and starts their breakfast.
7.45am: The Bun starts breakfast, usually milk and cereal or bread with a chocolate spread, and some cheese or yogurt. On some mornings I have to put a little clock in front of him so that he knows how much time is left until 'the big hand reaches 12'. Otherwise he just dawdles endlessly even though his breakfast isn't much. There is technically thirty minutes left before he has to leave for school but because of how much he dawdles, we have to add in loads of buffer time for last-minute toilet visits, struggling to get his coat on, etc.
8.15am: Leave for school. Generally it's a 15 minute drive, but extra time is needed to load kids into carseats, etc. When winter comes we'll need to have buffer time for scraping ice off, warming up the car, etc.
8.40am: Walk The Bun into his classroom, chat a bit to his teacher, and leave. I'm glad he's now able to walk in and settle into class without whining or tears. If J is doing the school run, at this time at home I'd usually be cleaning up the breakfast hurricane and maybe starting a load of laundry while Bao plays in the playroom. In the morning she is usually quite happy to play on her own so I get as many chores in as I can. I also occasionally Skype conference chat with a couple of friends at this time because we are located in three different countries and this is the best timing that fits all of us.
9.40am: If I'm home in the mornings I usually watch a show on TV called Dinner Date. Three blind dates cook for a man or woman who comes to their home for a three-course dinner. At the end of all three dates the contestant picks a winner and takes him or her out for a second date at a restaurant. It's pretty mindless entertainment but I like it because of all the different types of people they feature on the show and their varying abilities in the kitchen.
11am: Bao takes her morning nap, usually to about 1230pm - 1pm. I usually tackle the chores (e.g. ironing) that I can't do without her being underfoot.
12pm: have my lunch - sometimes a sandwich, or reheated leftovers, or a simple pasta. Read or surf the web - this is my downtime. Sometimes J will drive home for lunch, and if so then I will cook or put something simple together.
1pm: Bao wakes. Since she doesn't have lunch till a bit later I usually walk to our neighbourhood supermarket with her at this time because it's warmer than going in the mornings.
1.45pm: Bao has her lunch. We often video skype with my parents at this time since it's their leisure hour in Singapore (8.30pm) and Bao is sitting still in her high chair.
2pm: After she finishes lunch I leave her in her high chair while I start prep for dinner - chopping veggies, marinating meats, etc. The high chair is in the kitchen near me so I can supervise her. If they are on skype, my parents entertain her; otherwise, I give her some snacks or her sippy cup which buys me some time to do my stuff. Today she surprised me by eating most of a raw French bean I gave her. Otherwise, I put her down to explore the kitchen while I finish my work.
2.45pm: drive to The Bun's school. Even though he gets off at 3.20pm (except on Wednesdays, when it's a half-day), I like to arrive early to get a good parking spot. Bao enjoys toddling around the playground and watching the older kids, and I sometimes get to chat with a few other carers.
3.45pm: return home, get a snack for The Bun, and give Bao a bottle of milk. I also try to get her to nap, but recently it's been getting harder and harder and I'm guessing she may soon be dropping one nap. Even if she does eventually nap, I have to make sure it doesn't last for more than 30 - 45mins otherwise bedtime will be impossible. The Bun is usually entertaining himself at this point - he has an alloted 30mins on the iPad (school days only) and then just relaxes in his room or plays a bit.
5.15pm: J gets home from work. I start dinner while J plays with the kids. Sometimes The Bun will bring his school-assigned reading book or his reading/writing worksheets to the kitchen table to work alongside me as I cook. Since I did so much prep work in the afternoon, dinner is usually quickly assembled. I usually try to grab a quick shower once I finish the cooking.
6pm: dinner is served and we all eat together. The Bun feeds himself and chatters nonstop. J or I take turns to feed Bao but otherwise she is quite proficient at self-feeding and she eats whatever we're having with much gusto. I no longer cook baby food for her because she copes well eating rice or pasta, chicken, fish, stir-fried veggies and the like, and since so many of our meals are homecooked I'm quite comfortable with her eating table food because I know it's healthy enough. After dinner we usually have fruit, sometimes yogurt, and as a treat sometimes cake or ice-cream. We very rarely eat out on school nights.
6.30pm: dinner is over and the kids play while J and I clean up - it's usually not too bad because when I cook, I clean as I go so there's never a huge mess to tackle. J has his shower around this time.
6.45pm: kids' bath, both in at the same time, one parent to each. When I'm alone at night I still plonk the both of them in and wash one of them at a time. After bath everyone gets dressed in the master bedroom because we've got the portable heater going and the room is warm enough to dress in. The Bun dresses himself while J tackles Bao; I clean up the bathroom and tie up all the household trash.
7pm: storytime in The Bun's bedroom. Usually we read a book that he brings home from school daily, and in the past week these have been very simple and short books that he reads aloud with some help from me. Then we have two books that I read. Bao used to just wander around the room emptying The Bun's book baskets and trying to play with his toys, but these days she has been showing more interest in the books.
7.15pm: one last bathroom trip for The Bun and then the four of us sit in his room discussing the nice things that happened that day. J then takes Bao to the master bedroom for her last bottle of the night and to put her to bed, while I snuggle in the dark with The Bun and just chat with him.
7.30pm: on good nights, both kids are fast asleep. Otherwise, the latest they are asleep is 8 - 8.30pm.
8pm onwards: I put away the dinner dishes from the drying rack and prep for breakfast by laying out plates, breakfast foods, teabags, etc for the next morning because it saves so much time that way. I also do lunchbox prep at this time and make notes in The Bun's reading notebook for his teachers. J catches up on work, I surf the web or write long rambly posts like this one, we watch TV, have wine, and generally decompress.
11pm - midnight: bedtime for the adults.
===================================
Nothing fascinating, really, although I'm still quite boggled by the fact that the kids are asleep so early when in Singapore, we would still be finishing up dinner! I guess it helps that there's not much of a nightlife in Geneva and what nightlife there is, is very expensive. (A mother at playgroup today told me about her CHF40 cocktail at the Four Seasons. Like really!) Babysitters cost about CHF30 and up per hour and need to work at least 3 hours to make it worth their while, so if you calculate how much a night out would cost, I'd rather spend my money on an expensive bottle of wine and enjoy myself at home.
There's also a whole bunch of school things that I have to keep track of: Tuesdays there's PE, Wednesdays is half-day, Thursday is dance and library, Friday is welly-walk (the kids clomp around the woods in the afternoon) and I try to remember to get him to take his PE bag home on Fridays so that I can wash his PE clothes.
On Wednesdays when The Bun is on half-days in school, he will come home for lunch (usually pizza since that's quick, easy and readily eaten by the kids) and then we will try to go out a bit in the afternoon - spend an hour in the playground, or go to the supermarket, drop off the recycling, etc. If it's rainy then he stays in and plays with his sister.
Our lifestyle here is quite clearly different from when we lived in Singapore. Weekends are spent outdoors as much as possible unless the weather is bad. The shopping malls are very underwhelming and the selection very limited so there's no real fun in window shopping here. We go to supermarkets a lot since we cook so much and our fridge is a typical Swiss size (= small) and needs to be restocked often. Laundry is a constant because the washer is also typically Swiss-sized (= small). J mentioned today that on a good day in Singapore, he gets home from work at 6.30pm, whereas at the same timing here he's just about to shower and get everyone ready to bed down for the night.
I sometimes wonder what life will be like when we eventually return to Singapore but that's not something I need to think about for a long time more. Plus the kids will be a bit older, so moving them back will be totally different from when we moved them here. I guess that's why I like to record these routines, which all seem so mundane right now, but will be good to read when I look back months and years ahead from now.