Diary of a SAHM

It is always assumed that SAHMs have the luxury to do whatever they desire but after taking this position twice in my ‘career’ life, the theory is yet to be proven. While enjoying my leftover chicken rice and waiting for the laundry, I am trying to squeeze a post to my neglected blog.

Our day starts with preparing kids’ packed lunch which varies from making puffs from last night’s meals (so far, lamb stew has been rated excellent by the young lady as the meat is tender and goes well with pastry) to freshly made salad pasta (imagine nasi goreng but rice is substituted with Italian staple). Breakfast usually consists of something warm such as sausages, scrambled eggs or pancakes.

After we drop the kids to school, there is the morning coffee session with other SAHMs or ladies of leisure. I usually take this opportunity to read the daily newspaper and catch-up on the latest issue or gossip for that matter. This can last up to 2 hours depending on the topic of discussion, especially if it’s about politics or economy. Then we’re back to our homes and tend to domestic routine. In my case, I was busy with her school’s needs (the agony of transferring to secondary school, both state and public) which saw me doing lots of research, attending open days and narrowing them down to those that met our requirements. Lately I have been performing pro-bono work reviewing documents for the partner and my dining area has been turned into a mini office. Not forgetting the volunteering role at school and as it is Xmas time, we have loads of activities to do. We have the school fair and performances coming soon.

Later during the day it is time to pick our kids who look forward to a nice tea at home. So far I have been creative, making tuna melt, mini pizza or smoked salmon with bagel. There are days where I’ll get something from M&S bakery (their donuts are so fluffy!). When I am up to it, nasi goreng will be served.

As for dinner, thankfully she’s not fussy but she loves variety. Our oven is highly utilised with a selection of pasta, roast chicken or lamb, baked fish, etc. Stew is another popular dish, best served with garlic bread. Twice a week we’ll have rice on the menu and Sunday is always the day we’ll make traditional malay meal.

In between tea and dinner, it’s time to go through her homework. Well, I’ll watch my Ellen show while she comes to me if she gets stuck. If she’s done with her work, we usually have an extra tutoring session where we’ll discuss complex maths or comprehension.

Just before she goes to bed, we’ll have a chat on school’s stuff (e.g. anyone is giving her a hard time) or girlfriend talk. Somehow, that’s the time when I am mentally alert and able to absorb her stories. The rest of the day I get lost in her bubbly chat no matter how interesting the topic may be.

As for night time, it’s when I indulge myself in guilty pleasures watching sexy vampires or hot agents in action. I see myself getting attracted to Damon each day. He can be a real sweetie…

Somehow being a SAHM I have no reason to decline social obligations, hence coffee and lunch sessions are common. The day just goes by before I know it!

So there are times when I miss working and have the ability to delegate everything. Packed lunch to the hands of the school dinner ladies, homework and house chores to the nannies, reasonable excuses to decline invitation etc.

Right, I better get going as the laundry is calling.