My 72 hours of being a SAHM

We, me included, always wonder what SAHM (Stay At Home Mum) does every day when the husband is at work and the kids are in school.  We sometimes will hear the FTWM (Full Time Working Mum) comments that SAHM have time on their hand to do every thing they want for themselves or for the family, bond with their kids better, keep the house spic n span etc etc, all the goodie goodie things that us FTWM does not have the privilege to enjoy and will probably not get to enjoy unless we turn into SAHM or sacrifice our precious annual leave.

Well, I had a taste of the SAHM lifestyle recently and I must admit that SAHM's life is not easy peasy or breezy or days of shaking leg or filled with tai-tai high tea; ok you probably can have that if you have a helper, shopping in the malls and the list goes on....

I took leave on the first 3 days of the new year as DinoBoy started his Primary One in the school nearby.  My day started at 5.30am and I hit the sack at around 11pm+, most of the time feeling drained and dead tired.  I was basically only doing the following;

- Getting DinoBoy ready for school

- Sending & fetching DinoBoy from school

- Doing 2 loads of laundry

- Groceries shopping

- Dinner preparation

- Getting DinoBoy ready for bed

- Pack DinoBoy's school bag

- A little bit of facebooking in between

Dinner preparation starts around 1pm or 1.30pm with the soup that usually requires at least 2 hours of boiling (I did not use my shuttlechef), full force preparation & cooking starts around 4.30pm or 5pm but have to stop while I walk to the school to fetch DinoBoy at around 6pm.  Dinner is usually ready around 7.30pm or later.  I always try to cook healthy tasty food so I took great pains to plan the meals but the dishes are usually not too difficult to prepare nor requires long cooking time, here is the menu for 6 adults & 3 kids on those 3 days;

02 January 2013

Winter melon + chicken soup

Stir fried kang kong in oyster sauce

Steam cod fish

Coca cola chicken mid wings

Prawns with sea cucumber in thick sauce

03 January 2013

六味汤 or six taste soup

Broccoli with prawns

Sweet & Sour pork

04 January 2013

Bitter gourd + pork ribs soup

Stir fried black sauce prawns

Steamed eggs & century eggs

Sliced fish in thickened sauce

Anyway, I "slogged" in the kitchen to put the dinner on the table and I was very happy every one like the food.  I  was smiling from ear to ear when Han tell me "Yee Yee, I love the food you cooked." and give me her widest grin.

BTW did I mention that I only did very minimal things during these 3 days?  I did not even have an opportunity to clean or pack the house!  After dinner I have to tell DinoPapa to please wash the dishes and to pack the unfinished food (which is usually only small portion and he ate it later that night as supper) into the fridge while I slouch on the sofa, too tired to move a muscle.  I crawled into bed an hour plus later together with DinoBoy and was in dreamland within minutes.

How did those SAHMs managed to do EVERY THING and still find time to do a little bit of shopping or have coffee sessions with friends or their Me-Time?  After these 3 days I have new form of respect for the SAHM, especially those who do not have a helper at home and still managed to keep the house clean & tidy plus putting decent healthy food 3 meals a day for their family.

Now that I have a taste of the "forbidden" lifestyle, do I still want to cross over the fence to join the SAHMs if there is a chance?  I most definitely will!